With PQDT Open, you can read the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge.
About PQDT Open
Search
Dissertation/Thesis Abstract
This thesis contends that the fiction of Jesmyn Ward addresses various cultural aspects of contemporary Mississippi, without having to place Mississippi back in the antebellum South. To support this view, the thesis examines how Ward writes her conventional “problem” Black characters and weaves in representations of historical Mississippi artifacts and events. In addition, the project examines Ward’s use of magical realism and offers an examination of the coverage on Ward over the last several years as a way of offering how Ward’s unconventional style of writing is shaping her critical reception. As a result of this research, the thesis seeks to offer ways that scholars can use contemporary African American writers to reshape how we study and view the South.
| Advisor: | Rambsy, Howard |
| Commitee: | Cali, Liz, Ramaswamy, Anushiya |
| School: | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville |
| Department: | English |
| School Location: | United States -- Illinois |
| Source: | MAI 81/7(E), Masters Abstracts International |
| Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
| Subjects: | African American Studies, Womens studies, American literature |
| Keywords: | African American literature, Black women, Ward, Jesmyn , Mississippi, South, Faulkner, William |
| Publication Number: | 27667764 |
| ISBN: | 9781392832875 |
