Race and Transatlantic Identities

Race and Transatlantic Identities provides a rich overview of the complex relationship between the construction of race and transatlantic identity as expressed in a variety of cultural forms, refracted through different disciplinary and critical perspectives, and manifested at different historical moments. Spanning a period from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, the contributions provide a panorama of the wealth and variety of contemporary approaches to grappling with notions of race in a transatlantic context, raising questions about the permanence and fixity of racial boundaries. The volume, which focuses on the cultural sites where individuals construct and express their racial identities in the context of those boundaries, also explores strategies through which those boundaries are defined and redefined. The collection conducts this inquiry by juxtaposing essays on literature, history, visual arts, material culture, music, and dance in ways that encourage the reader to engage with concepts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The articles in this book were originally published in the Journal of Transatlantic Studies.

Elizabeth T. Kenney is Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at Salem State University, MA, USA. She researches New England women and transatlantic cultural exchanges.

Sirpa Salenius is a Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland. Her research examines gender, race, and identity in the transatlantic context.

Whitney Womack Smith is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Writing at Miami University of Ohio, USA. Her research focuses on nineteenth-century transatlantic women’s writing, especially issues of class, race, and authorship.