Voodoo: The History of a Racial Slur

— —

Danielle N. Boaz (Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

Voodoo

The History of a Racial Slur

Danielle N. Boaz (Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

$52.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press Inc
31 December 2023

Colonialism & imperialism; History of religion; Aspects of religion (non-Christian); Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies; Law & society

"Coined in the middle of the nineteenth century, the term ""voodoo"" has been deployed largely by people in the U.S. to refer to spiritual practices--real or imagined--among people of African descent. ""Voodoo"" is one way that white people have invoked their anxieties and stereotypes about Black people--to call them uncivilized, superstitious, hypersexual, violent, and cannibalistic. In this book, Danielle Boaz explores public perceptions of ""voodoo"" as they have varied over time, with an emphasis on the intricate connection between stereotypes of ""voodoo"" and debates about race and human rights. The term has its roots in the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s, especially following the Union takeover of New Orleans, when it was used to propagate the idea that Black Americans held certain ""superstitions"" that allegedly proved that they were unprepared for freedom, the right to vote, and the ability to hold public office. Similar stereotypes were later extended to Cuba and Haiti in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the 1930s, Black religious movements like the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam were derided as ""voodoo cults."" More recently, ideas about ""voodoo"" have shaped U.S. policies toward Haitian immigrants in the 1980s, and international responses to rituals to bind Nigerian women to human traffickers in the twenty-first century. Drawing on newspapers, travelogues, magazines, legal documents, and books, Boaz shows that the term ""voodoo"" has often been a tool of racism, colonialism, and oppression."

By: Danielle N. Boaz (Associate Professor of Africana Studies Associate Professor of Africana Studies University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 160mm, Width: 236mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 310g
ISBN: 9780197689417
ISBN 10: 0197689418
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 31 December 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Introduction 1. Emancipation, Civil Rights, and the Origins of ""Voodoo"" in the 1850s--1880s 2. ""Voodoo"" and U.S. Imperialism in Cuba in the 1890s--1920s 3. Love Cults and ""White Slaves"" in the 1920s 4. Human Sacrifice and African American Muslims in the 1930s 5. ""Sacrifices at Sea"" and Refugees in the 1980s 6. Sex Trafficking and Sacred Oaths in the 1990s to the Present Conclusion Bibliography Index"

Danielle N. Boaz is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she offers courses on human rights, social justice, and the law. She has a Ph.D. in history with a specialization in Africa and the African Diaspora; a J.D. with a concentration in International Law; and a LL.M. in Intercultural Human Rights. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Africana Religions. Boaz's research focuses on the intersection of racism and religious intolerance, with an emphasis on discrimination and violence against devotees of African diaspora religions.

Reviews for Voodoo: The History of a Racial Slur

Painstakingly researched, Danielle Boaz's analysis shows that the denigration of African religions has always had an overarching purpose of denying Black people's humanity and of justifying colonial enterprise, enslavement, and white supremacy. This book is essential reading. * Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, Editor of Fragments of Bone: Neo-African Religions in a New World * Bold and evidence-driven, Voodoo: The History of a Racial Slur exposes the disturbing truth that 'religious racism' levied upon custodians of African heritage religions is the only type of racism that most people still find permissible and even necessary in the twenty-first century. In this long overdue volume, Boaz provokes readers to investigate why and demolishes all rationalizations of the past. * Dianne M. Stewart, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Religion and African American Studies, Emory University *