Activism and the American Novel: Religion and Resistance in Fiction by Women of Color

Since the 1980s, many activists and writers have turned from identity politics toward ethnic religious traditions to rediscover and reinvigorate their historic role in resistance to colonialism and oppression. In her examination of contemporary fiction by women of color--including Toni Morrison, Ana Castillo, Toni Cade Bambara, Louise Erdrich, and Leslie Marmon Silko--Channette Romero considers the way these novels newly engage with Vodun, Santer a, Candombl , and American Indian traditions. Critical of a widespread disengagement from civic participation and of the contemporary novel's disconnection from politics, this fiction attempts to transform the novel and the practice of reading into a means of political engagement and an inspiration for social change.

ISBN-13: 9780813933290

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Publication Date: 08-29-2012

Pages: 232

Product Dimensions: 8.80h x 6.00w x 0.60d

Channette Romero is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Georgia.