Beyond Ontological Blackness: An Essay on African American Religious and Cultural Criticism [Paperback]

Victor Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999 | ISBN-10: 0826411525 | ISBN-13: 978-0826411525

In this study, Victor Anderson traces outcroppings of "ontological blackness" in African American theological, religious and cultural thought, arguing that African American critical thought has been trapped in racial rhetoric it did not create and which cannot serve it well. Drawing together 18th- and 19th-century accomodationism and its assimilationist heirs with the movements of Black Power adn Afrocentrism, Anderson shows that all exhibit a similar structure of racial identity. He suggests that it is time to move beyond the confines of "the cult of black heroic genius" to what Bell Hooks has termed "postmodern blackness": a racial discourse that leaves room to negotiate African American identities along lines of class, gender, sexuality, and age as well as race.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this important contribution to both cultural studies and theology, Anderson articulates six themes: the reification of race in contemporary African American cultural and religious thinkers, designated "ontological blackness" ; the historic representational functions of race language; the determinative role of the cult of European genius associated with the Enlightenment; racial discourses that derive their legitimacy from ontological blackness; Nietzsche's "grotesque aesthetic," which undergirds new literary critiques of ontological blackness; and a plea that the legitimacy of African American cultural criticism be grounded on cultural fulfillment rather than resistance. The rhythm of description that permeates the book makes it a good pointer for historical (or, more properly, genealogical) research as well as contemporary cultural and political thought. Most notably, Anderson engages in an extended critique of James Cone's black theology; womanist theologies articulated by Katie Cannon, Jacquelyn Grant, and Delores Williams; Molefi Asante's Afrocentrism; and Shelby Steele's neoconservatism. That should generate controversy from all directions. As a contribution to critical cultural studies, it should also stimulate reflection on the construction of all sorts of categories, including not only race, but also Anderson's genealogical taxonomy of contemporary African American cultural critics, from James Cone and Katie Cannon to Cornell West, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. Steve Schroeder --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group (Sd) (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826411525
• ISBN-13: 978-0826411525
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart, October 26, 2010

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Stephen Matlock (Seattle WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond Ontological Blackness: An Essay on African American Religious and Cultural Criticism (Paperback)

This is a distilled graduate student study into the issue of "what do you mean by 'me'?" While the language is aimed at the highly literate person who is comfortable with the academic world, the thoughts that are contained in here are cogent, powerful, and easy to grasp if hard to implement. This isn't a fill-in-the-blanks book; this book requires you to think on each page.

Dr. Anderson has a wide range of resources; he quotes them fondly and encourages the reader to explore on his won.

Pick up this book carefully. If you are honest to the book's purpose, you will end up exploring more than the few pages of this book