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2 - The Politics of Class

from Part I - Histories of the Present

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2023

Yogita Goyal
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
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Summary

This chapter assesses the interplay among social class and the growing centralization of African American literature in the marketplace. Since the 1980s the production of black literature has been increasingly shaped by the economic and aesthetic priorities of commercial bookselling. Contemporary African American writers have expressed their awareness of the ways that the commodification of black literary expression has both imposed limits and created new possibilities for literary art. These authors have been particularly attentive to new patterns of consumption and reception that emphasize class distinctions among consumers and genres of writing. These changes have prompted writers to rethink traditional assumptions about the social and aesthetic obligations of black middle-class writers in forging alliances with the working class. The chapter considers these shifting social relations with reference to literary works by Paul Beatty, Trey Ellis, Percival Everett, Mat Johnson, Claudia Rankine, and Colson Whitehead.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Politics of Class
  • Edited by Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary African American Literature
  • Online publication: 14 December 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009159708.005
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  • The Politics of Class
  • Edited by Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary African American Literature
  • Online publication: 14 December 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009159708.005
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Politics of Class
  • Edited by Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary African American Literature
  • Online publication: 14 December 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009159708.005
Available formats
×