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Impossible Witnesses: Truth, Abolitionism, and Slave Testimony
Even the most cursory review of black literary production during the nineteenth century indicates that its primary concerns were the issues of slavery, racial subjugation, abolitionist politics and liberation. How did the writers of these narratives "bear witness" to the experiences they describe? At a time when a hegemonic discourse on these subjects already existed, what did it mean to "tell the truth" about slavery?
Impossible Witnesses explores these questions through a study of fiction, poetry, essays, and slave narratives from the abolitionist era. Linking the racialized discourses of slavery and Romanticism, it boldly calls for a reconfiguration of U.S. and British Romanticism that places slavery at its center.
Impossible Witnesses addresses some of the major literary figures and representations of slavery in light of discourses on natural rights and law, offers an account of Foucauldian discourse analysis as it applies to the problem of "bearing witness," and analyzes specific narratives such as "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano."
A work of great depth and originality, Impossible Witnesses renders traditional interpretations of Romanticism impossible and places Dwight A. McBride at the forefront of studies in race and literature.
Impossible Witnesses explores these questions through a study of fiction, poetry, essays, and slave narratives from the abolitionist era. Linking the racialized discourses of slavery and Romanticism, it boldly calls for a reconfiguration of U.S. and British Romanticism that places slavery at its center.
Impossible Witnesses addresses some of the major literary figures and representations of slavery in light of discourses on natural rights and law, offers an account of Foucauldian discourse analysis as it applies to the problem of "bearing witness," and analyzes specific narratives such as "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano."
A work of great depth and originality, Impossible Witnesses renders traditional interpretations of Romanticism impossible and places Dwight A. McBride at the forefront of studies in race and literature.
207 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
About the author
Dwight A. McBride
17 books14 followersDwight A. McBride is Daniel Hale Williams Professor of African American Studies, English, & Performance Studies at Northwestern University where he also serves as Dean of The Graduate School and Associate Provost for Graduate Education. He is the author of several groundbreaking works in African American Studies, including Impossible Witnesses and Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch.
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January 17, 2019
Rereading this as part of a project to turn my dissertation into a book length project.
I found this text illuminating the first time that I read it; it was equally useful on second read.
What I found particularly compelling was McBride's discussion of both the power and limits of slave witnessing. While he didn't develop ideas about the slave body as a site of witnessing as much as I would have liked (he does do some of this to his credit --- and perhaps I should be grateful that he left more to do as I develop my own thinking), he does talk about the need for slaves to prove that they could be reliable witnesses to the horrors of slavery before they could be believed. This was done in a variety of ways that he outlines extensively in his text.
I also found it interesting that he argues that both Equiano and Douglass wrote in a narrative style that both acknowledged their first-hand understanding of slavery while setting themselves apart for the larger slave community. I find this interesting because I wonder whether that was a rhetoric choice that came out of a desire to prove African American males fit for full citizenship in the union. A kind of --- see, I have this ability to articulate the experience of the slave from a position of rationality rather than being overly emotional. And--- see, I am not the downcast victim that so many slaves and former slaves are portrayed as. These are things to think on.
All in all, a very useful description of the work of slave narratives as well as other writings by early African American within a particular discourse community.
I found this text illuminating the first time that I read it; it was equally useful on second read.
What I found particularly compelling was McBride's discussion of both the power and limits of slave witnessing. While he didn't develop ideas about the slave body as a site of witnessing as much as I would have liked (he does do some of this to his credit --- and perhaps I should be grateful that he left more to do as I develop my own thinking), he does talk about the need for slaves to prove that they could be reliable witnesses to the horrors of slavery before they could be believed. This was done in a variety of ways that he outlines extensively in his text.
I also found it interesting that he argues that both Equiano and Douglass wrote in a narrative style that both acknowledged their first-hand understanding of slavery while setting themselves apart for the larger slave community. I find this interesting because I wonder whether that was a rhetoric choice that came out of a desire to prove African American males fit for full citizenship in the union. A kind of --- see, I have this ability to articulate the experience of the slave from a position of rationality rather than being overly emotional. And--- see, I am not the downcast victim that so many slaves and former slaves are portrayed as. These are things to think on.
All in all, a very useful description of the work of slave narratives as well as other writings by early African American within a particular discourse community.
Displaying 1 of 1 review