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To walk or fly?

Descriptive

TypeOfResource
Text
TitleInfo
Title
To walk or fly?
SubTitle
the folk narration of community and identity in twentieth century Black women's literature of the Americas
Identifier
ETD_2386
Identifier (type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.000052213
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3D79BJZ
Language
LanguageTerm (authority = ISO 639-3:2007); (type = text)
English
Genre (authority = marcgt)
theses
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Comparative Literature
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
African American women in literature
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
African American women authors--History and criticism
Abstract
This dissertation focuses on the function of black vernacular myths and rituals in three primary women's texts of the Americas: Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977), Simone Schwartz-Bart's Pluie et Vent sur Telumee Miracle (1972) and Paule Marshall's Praisesong for the Widow (1983). My project codifies how the black vernacular expressions of mythology and ritual are used to negotiate power between the individual and their community. Specifically, I trace how the women in these texts used resources of the black vernacular tradition as social and cultural collateral to empower themselves within an alternative system of values that simultaneously validates self and communal worth. Analyzing the transnational myths of the Flying Africans/Ibo Landing--myths of newly-arrived Africans escaping slavery by flight or by walking on water back to Africa, I contend that the performances of these myths and dance rituals not only created kinship bonds but also provided opportunities for expanding the parameters of community.
This writing grew from the limits of the Black Arts Movement (1960-1970) when the male-dominated discourse on the black vernacular traditions focused on creating a voice distinct from, and often in conflict with, the prevailing white literary establishment. Simultaneously, Second Wave Feminism left women of color outside of the discourse on social justice and their definition of womanhood. I argue that these black women authors responded to this marginalization within their affinity groups by employing folk traditions to observe intra-communal dynamics. Doing so created a model of internal reflection that both revealed the seeds of internalized dominant/subordinate ideologies and served as an alternative method to record the impact of the larger social structure of domination.
These authors located black women's knowledge and power in liminal folk spaces in their novels. Taken together, they introduced a metaphor for black women's positioning in the Black Arts Movement and Second Wave Feminism; folk traditions from this insider/outsider perspective became tools to navigate and critique systems of domination. These texts provided dramatizations of a black feminist perspective, navigating black women's experiences of intersectionality, thus employing folk knowledge as a means to create new possibilities from historical traditions.
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
Extent
v, 289 p.
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 274-288)
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Tolonda Michele Tolbert
Name (type = personal)
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Tolbert
NamePart (type = given)
Tolonda Michele
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author
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Tolonda MicheleTolbert
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Busia
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Abena
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chair
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Abena P.A. Busia
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NamePart (type = family)
Diamond
NamePart (type = given)
Josephine
Role
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internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Josephine Diamond
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Sifuentes-Jauregui
NamePart (type = given)
Ben
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internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Ben Sifuentes-Jauregui
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Alexander
NamePart (type = given)
Simone
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
outside member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Simone James Alexander
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
school
OriginInfo
DateCreated (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact)
2010
DateOther (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (type = degree)
2010-01
Place
PlaceTerm (type = code)
xx
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights

RightsDeclaration (AUTHORITY = GS); (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Notice
Note
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
Note
RightsHolder (ID = PRH-1); (type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Tolbert
GivenName
Tolonda
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent (ID = RE-1); (AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
Permission or license
Label
Place
DateTime
2010-01-05 11:53:16
Detail
AssociatedEntity (ID = AE-1); (AUTHORITY = rulib)
Role
Copyright holder
Name
Tolonda Tolbert
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject (ID = AO-1); (AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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Technical

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ETD
MimeType (TYPE = file)
application/pdf
MimeType (TYPE = container)
application/x-tar
FileSize (UNIT = bytes)
1064960
Checksum (METHOD = SHA1)
c1bd0c1958bd8e940f000898d20cfa03467b627f
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