African American literature has changed in startling ways since the end of the Black Arts Era. The last five decades have generated new paradigms of racial formation and novel patterns of cultural production, circulation, and reception. This volume takes up the challenge of mapping the varied and changing field of contemporary African American writing. Balancing the demands of historical and political context with attention to aesthetic innovation, it considers the history, practice, and future directions of the field. Examining various historical forces shaping the creation of innovative genres, the turn to the afterlife of slavery, the pull toward protest, and the impact of new and expanded geographies and methods, this Companion provides an invaluable point of reference for readers seeking rigorous and cutting-edge analyses of contemporary African American literature.
Introduction Yogita Goyal; Part I. Histories of the Present: 1. African American Citizenship in the Post-Civil Rights Era Margo Crawford; 2. The Politics of Class Rolland Murray; 3. Rethinking Post-Racialism Aida Levy-Hussen; Part II. African American Genres: 4. Afro-Futurism and the Speculative Turn Madhu Dubey; 5. The Black Lyric Anthony Reed; 6. Neo-Slave Imaginaries Christopher Freeburg; 7. Incarceration and Confinement Literature Patrick Elliott Alexander; 8. Satire, Comedy, and Critique Derek Maus; 9. Popular Romance and Literary Undergrounds Aneeka Henderson; Part III. Mapping New Identities and Geographies: 10. Feminist Intersections Sheri Marie Harrison; 11. Queer Bodies in Time GerShun Avilez; 12. Global and Diasporic Worldmaking Nadia Ellis; Part IV. Critical Approaches: 13. African American Soundscapes Shana Redmond; 14. African American Literature and Visual Culture Hayley O'Malley; 15. The Affective Turn Lauren Michele Jackson; 16. Print Culture and Literary Sociology Kinohi Nishikawa; 17. Digital and New Media Cultures of Protest Marisa Parham.
Yogita Goyal is Professor of African American Studies and English at UCLA and author of Romance, Diaspora, and Black Atlantic Literature (2010) and Runaway Genres: The Global Afterlives of Slavery (2019; winner of ACLA's René Wellek Prize). She edited The Cambridge Companion to Transnational American Literature (2017) and has published widely on African diaspora, postcolonial, and US literature.
Reviews for The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary African American Literature
'This book is essential for keeping libraries current ... Highly recommended.' L. L. Johnson, CHOICE
