Passing and the Fictions of Identity

by Ginsberg, Elaine K.; Pease, Donald E.

• ISBN13: 9780822317647
• ISBN10: 0822317648
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-05-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

Passing refers to the process whereby a person of one race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation adopts the guise of another. Historically, this has often involved black slaves passing as white in order to gain their freedom. More generally, it has served as a way for women and people of color to access male or white privilege. In their examination of this practice of crossing boundaries, the contributors to this volume offer a unique perspective for studying the construction and meaning of personal and cultural identities. These essays consider a wide range of texts and moments from colonial times to the present that raise significant questions about the political motivations inherent in the origins and maintenance of identity categories and boundaries. Through discussions of such literary works asRunning a Thousand Miles for Freedom, The Autobiography of an ExColoured Man,Uncle Tomrs"s Cabin,The Hidden Hand,Black Like Me, andGiovannirs"s Room, the authors examine issues of power and privilege and ways in which passing might challenge the often rigid structures of identity politics. Their interrogation of the semiotics of behavior, dress, language, and the body itself contributes significantly to an understanding of national, racial, gender, and sexual identity in American literature and culture. Contextualizing and building on the theoretical work of such scholars as Judith Butler, Diana Fuss, Marjorie Garber, and Henry Louis Gates Jr.,Passing and the Fictions of Identitywill be of value to students and scholars working in the areas of race, gender, and identity theory, as well as U.S. history and literature.Contributors. Martha Cutter, Katharine Nicholson Ings, Samira Kawash, Adrian Piper, Valerie Rohy, Marion Rust, Julia Stern, Gayle Wald, Ellen M. Weinauer, Elizabeth Young

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction the Politics of Passing	p. 1
Notes	p. 16
Passing to Freedom	p. 19
The Subaltern as Imperialist: Speaking of Olaudah Equiano	p. 21
Notes	p. 36
"A Most Respectable Looking Gentleman": Passing, Possession, and Transgression in Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom	p. 37
Notes	p. 53
the (re)construction of Race	p. 57
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man: (passing For) Black Passing for White	p. 59
Notes	p. 73
Sliding Significations: Passing as a Narrative and Textual Strategy in Nella Larsen's Fiction	p. 75
Notes	p. 98
Blackness and the White Imagination	p. 101
Spanish Masquerade and the Drama of Racial Identity in Uncle Tom's Cabin	p. 103
Notes	p. 123
Blackness and the Literary Imagination: Uncovering the Hidden Hand	p. 131
Notes	p. 149
"A Most Disagreeable Mirror": Reflections on White Identity in Black like Me	p. 151
Notes	p. 176
Creating the Self	p. 179
Confederate Counterfeit: the Case of the Cross-Dressed Civil War Soldier	p. 181
Notes	p. 213
Displacing Desire: Passing, Nostalgia, and Giovanni's Room	p. 218
Notes	p. 232
Passing for White, Passing for Black	p. 234
Note	p. 269
Works Cited	p. 271
Index	p. 285
Contributors	p. 297
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