Foreign Affairs
"Fischer brings together an immense amount of material to examine the unique circumstances of Haiti's emergence as a nation. . . ."
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
“[T]his work stands out because of the author’s approach: in a field dominated by historians, Fischer turns to literary criticism. Consequently, she brings novel theoretical and methodological tools to bear on interpretations of this seminal event….”
--Ashli White,
New West Indian Guide“While Fischer’s analytical compass finds its proverbial north in the region of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, her recovery of archived material—from colonial muralscapes to revolutionary documents and literature—reveals a series of discursive revolutionary ripples that emanate far beyond these shores.”
--Frederick Luis Aldama,
Latin American Research Review "Fischer brings together an immense amount of material to examine the unique circumstances of Haiti's emergence as a nation, the profound wounds that this process left in its collective psyche, and the ways in which these events affected external perceptions."
--Foreign Affairs
"[A] pathbreaking study that takes the Haitian Revolution from the margins, where it has been relegated, to place it at the center of the development of western modernity. Fischer conducted extensive historical and cultural research in archives in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. With her evidence, she makes a compelling and nuanced argument about the significance of race, national and political identities as a reflection of fear and trauma in the new world during revolutionary times."
--Gina Ulysse, BOMB
"Sibylle Fischer . . . has written a most provocative book about the image of the Haitian Revolution in the literature of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti itself. . . . [A] work that will cause historians and literature scholars to rethink accepted interpretations of the Haitian Revolution and its influence."
--James A. Lewis,
History: Reviews of New Books"
Modernity Disavowed is a decisively original contribution to Caribbean studies that is not likely to be surpassed in the future, but it also transforms and enriches our understanding of modernity, of the alternatives within it and the multiple ways in which they have been silenced." (Translated from the Italian)
--Sandro Mezza,
Studi culturali "Recommended."
--Y. Fuentes,
CHOICE"To write an over-three-hundred-page text based on traces, inaccuracies, and silence is, to say the least, a daunting endeavor. Yet it is a task that Sibylle Fischer handles masterfully in Modernity Disavowed."
--Kaiama L. Glover,
Research in African Literatures"[W]ell-researched and quite informative for Caribbean scholars across disciplines. The author's re-examination of the modifications of Haitian constitutions is profound indeed."
--Millery Polyné,
Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History"A remarkable new book. . . .
Modernity Disavowed is a deeply challenging, philosophically fluent book. . . ."
--Deborah Jensen,
Interventions“[T]his is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking work that combines bold generalization with a profusion of arresting detail and ingenious argument.”
--David Geggus,
The Americas
See all Editorial Reviews