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Blackface

Series: Object Lessons
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( 123 ratings, 37 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Blackface by Professor Ayanna Thompson explores the complex and troubling history of blackface performance. The book investigates why blackface became a persistent part of public life, from early English stage performances to contemporary culture, and the legacies it has left in the 21st century. It connects racist theatrical traditions to broader patterns of anti-Black racism, uncovering painful cultural memories while offering hope for future new paradigms in performance.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2199
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Blackface is suited for readers interested in cultural studies, theatre history, race and identity, and the ongoing conversations about racism and representation in the arts. It appeals to academics, students, and thought leaders engaged in media and cultural criticism, as well as general readers seeking a deeper understanding of racial performance legacies.

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"Investigates what blackface is, why it occurred, and what its legacies are in the 21st century"--

Investigates what blackface is, why it occurred, and what its legacies are in the 21st century.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

New Statesman essential non-fiction book of 2021

Featured in Book Riot's 12 best nonfiction books about Black identity and history

A Times Higher Education Book of the Week

2022 Finalist for the Prose Awards (Media and Cultural Studies category)

Why are there so many examples of public figures, entertainers, and normal, everyday people in blackface? And why aren’t there as many examples of people of colour in whiteface? This book explains what blackface is, why it occurred, and what its legacies are in the 21st century.

There is a filthy and vile threadβ€”sometimes it’s tied into a nooseβ€”that connects the first performances of Blackness on English stages, the birth of blackface minstrelsy, contemporary performances of Blackness, and anti-Black racism. Blackface examines that history and provides hope for a future with new performance paradigms.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Series: Object Lessons

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The book has received critical acclaim for its insightful analysis and accessibility. Variety highlights its examination of Hollywood’s ties to racist performances, while Times Higher Education praises its clear exposition of blackface’s history as part of a movement toward justice. Influential voices like Ibram X. Kendi commend its precise and important contribution to historical record. The work is described as a lucid, essential read, widely regarded as both eye-opening and defiant.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781501374012

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 May 2021

Country: United States

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Illustration: 27 b&w

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 120.0mm

Height: 164.0mm

Weight: 140g

Pages: 144

About the Author

Ayanna Thompson is a Regents Professor of English and Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS) at Arizona State University, USA. She is the author of Shakespeare in the Theatre: Peter Sellars (Arden Bloomsbury, 2018), Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose: A Student-Centred Approach, co-authored with Laura Turchi (Arden Bloomsbury, 2016), Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America (Oxford University Press, 2011), and Performing Race and Torture on the Early Modern Stage (Routledge, 2008). She wrote the new introduction for the revised Arden3 Othello (Arden, 2016), and is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Race (forthcoming Cambridge University Press, 2021), Weyward Macbeth: Intersections of Race and Performance (Palgrave, 2010), and Colorblind Shakespeare: New Perspectives on Race and Performance (Routledge, 2006). She is currently collaborating with Curtis Perry on the Arden4 edition of Titus Andronicus. She was the 2018-19 President of the Shakespeare Association of America, and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Marshall Scholars. She was one of Phi Beta Kappa’s Visiting Scholars for 2017-2018.

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