For over two centuries; America has celebrated the same African-American culture it attempts to control and repress; and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the strange practice of blackface performance. Born of extreme racial and class conflicts; the blackface minstrel show appropriated black dialect; music; and dance; at once applauded and lampooned black culture; and; ironically; contributed to a "blackening of America."Drawing on recent research in cultural studies and social history; Eric Lott examines the role of the blackface minstrel show in the political struggles of the years leading up to the Civil War. Reading minstrel music; lyrics; jokes; burlesque skits; and illustrations in tandem with working-class racial ideologies and the sex/gender system; Love and Theft argues that blackface minstrelsy both embodied and disrupted the racial tendencies of its largely white; male; working-class audiences. Underwritten by envy as well as repulsion; sympathetic identification as well as fear--a dialectic of "love and theft"--the minstrel show continually transgressed the color line even as it enabled the formation of a self-consciously white working class. Lott exposes minstrelsy as a signifier for multiple breaches: the rift between high and low cultures; the commodification of the dispossessed by the empowered; the attraction mixed with guilt of whites caught in the act of cultural thievery.This new edition celebrates the twentieth anniversary of this landmark volume. It features a new foreword by renowned critic Greil Marcus that discusses the books influence on American cultural studies as well as its relationship to Bob Dylans 2001 album of the same name; "Love Theft." In addition; Lott has written a new afterword that extends the studys range to the twenty-first century.
#818775 in eBooks 2013-05-13 2013-05-13File Name: B00E1AU1UO
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Best book ever on drawing natureBy TroutChaserThis book; though dated by some 100 years or so; is still an excellent guide to drawing trees and foliage. I happen to love the style of 19th century landscape paintings and drawings and wanted to incorporate that style into my own work. The "how did they do that?" questions were answered perfectly by this book.The writing style is antiquated (no one talks or writes like this anymore--a pity); though I think that people from this era were better able to express themselves than people today. You dont need to read every word to get the gist of whats going on or to understand the techniques expressed here. Just look at the pictures and copy them until you get the feel for it.Highly recommended if you like the 19th century style.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. BrilliantBy College ProfJ.D. Harding was one of John Ruskins drawing masters; and the advice he imparts in this volume is priceless. In the age of brief text messages and tweets; some readers may be put off by his ornate Victorian writing style. Dont despair! Untangling the thicket of words is worth the effort if you are a lover of representational drawing. I have been a professor of drawing at the university level for nearly a quarter of a century and this is one of the best drawings manuals I have ever come across. Be warned; however; this is NOT a volume of facile tricks and techniques to help you make pretty pictures. This is serious advice for those who want to learn to SEE with a pencil in their hand.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. I love this book!By Pixie LadyI love drawing and painting. I live in the woods and have been doing paintings and drawings of the beautiful trees around me. I wanted to see how other artists draw trees and get some good ideas and tips for my own drawings. This is my favorite tree drawing book. There are so many different types of trees to look at and learn about. This book is perfect for getting new ideas and for inspiring me.