Southern History across the Color Line (Paperback)

~ (Author) "We all know on a certain, almost intuitive level that violence is inseparable from slavery..." (more)
Key Phrases: Gertrude Thomas, United States, Civil War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The color line, once all too solid in southern public life, still exists in the study of southern history. As distinguished historian Nell Irvin Painter notes, historians often still write about the South as though people of different races occupied entirely different spheres. In truth, although blacks and whites were expected to remain in their assigned places in the southern social hierarchy, their lives were thoroughly entangled.

In this powerful collection, Painter reaches across the color line to examine how race, gender, class, and individual subjectivity shaped the lives of black and white women and men in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century South. Through six essays, she explores such themes as interracial sex, white supremacy, and the physical and psychological violence of slavery, using insights gleaned from psychology and feminist social science as well as social, cultural, and intellectual history.

At once pioneering and reflective, the book illustrates both the breadth of Painter's interests and the originality of her intellectual contributions. It will inspire and guide a new generation of historians who take her goal of transcending the color bar as their own.

"Demonstrate[s] excellence marked by the transgressive verve of [an] innovative and progressive scholar. . . . An extremely successful attempt to move with intellectual rigor and consistency toward a meaningful interpretation of a world mapped in blood by cruelty and violence."
— Southern Literary Journal

An important and welcome collection. Her essays are always timely, telling, and provocative. They take risks and often seek to confound categories, topically and conceptually. And they chart the intellectual range and growth of one of our leading historians and teachers. (Steven Hahn, Northwestern University)

Product Description

The color line, once all too solid in southern public life, still exists in the study of southern history. As distinguished historian Nell Irvin Painter notes, historians often still write about the South as though people of different races occupied entirely different spheres. In truth, although blacks and whites were expected to remain in their assigned places in the southern social hierarchy, their lives were thoroughly entangled.

In this powerful collection, Painter reaches across the color line to examine how race, gender, class, and individual subjectivity shaped the lives of black and white women and men in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century South. Through six essays, she explores such themes as interracial sex, white supremacy, and the physical and psychological violence of slavery, using insights gleaned from psychology and feminist social science as well as social, cultural, and intellectual history.

At once pioneering and reflective, the book illustrates both the breadth of Painter's interests and the originality of her intellectual contributions. It will inspire and guide a new generation of historians who take her goal of transcending the color bar as their own.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (December 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807853607
• ISBN-13: 978-0807853603
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #771,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not as deep as expected..., February 15, 2008

By	Samuel D. Fink (Aiken, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dr. Painter is a painstaking historian with excellent depth of references provided. The subject matter is fascinating and the various essays provide interesting perspectives. However, some of the essays stop short of my expectations having listened to her on BookTV extended interview. After a while, I got the feeling of redundancy and deeper thoughts not developed or explained.

Nevertheless, I recommend the book and look forward to reading her next history of the three ages of white history in this nation.