The Problem of Embodiment in Early African American Narrative

Download or read book The Problem of Embodiment in Early African American Narrative written by Katherine Fishburn and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1997-06-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering a revolutionary way of reading 19th-century slave narratives, Fishburn seeks to recover the philosophical foundations of African American literature. Underlying slave narrative is an expression of the problem of physical embodiment; that is, the dualistic thinking of the mind-body division. Fishburn's work uncovers the tension between needing to acknowledge the fact of human embodiment and wishing to overcome its consequences in a racist society. One of the strongest points made by this pioneering work is the controversial claim that these slave narratives offer one of the most telling, if largely overlooked, pre-Heideggerian critiques of liberal humanism ever attempted in the West.