Britain appears today as a multicultural nation, however, racial diversity, apparently more tolerated than in the past, is still problematic and feared; indeed, contemporary racial tensions and contradictions are the living legacy of the country’s colonial past and involvement with slavery. Clearly, slavery played a key role in British history, and yet it seems to have been largely forgotten by the collective British memory; the British amnesia is indicted by both writers and historians such as Andrea Levy, James Walvin, Herbert S. Klein, William D. Phillips and Caryl Phillips. However, this situation is slowly changing: recently scholars’ and artists’ interest in slavery has grown, as testified by the publication of literary works dealing with the subject of slavery. By reflecting on the heritage of Transatlantic Slavery, my dissertation aims to participate in the recent academic debate over slavery and in the process of reevaluation of slavery’s legacies in the contemporary period. My dissertation analyzes the literary representations of slavery, following the evolutions of the literary genre of the Slave Narrative, and my aim is to demonstrate that this literary genre, which has long been considered as an exclusively African American genre, has played a key role for Britain. This literary genre was initially used to support the abolitionist campaign by raising awareness about slavery and creating empathy towards the slaves; however, it is now used to both reestablish the historical value of the early Slave Narratives, and to metaphorically create connections between Transatlantic Slavery and the present days racial discriminations. My dissertation follows the perspective provided by the Trauma Studies, indeed, I conceive Transatlantic Slavery as both individual and collective trauma, for both the white and the black population, this trauma still needs to be tackled: artistic representations of slavery can be considered as a way to bring it to light, and find slavery’s place in human history and memory; thus, the literary representations of slavery produced in in Britain can be read as attempts to overcome the trauma of slavery. Not only the creation of literary representations of collective traumas such as the Slave Narrative, and its evolution are interesting on a literary level, but they are also considered to have the same therapeutic function as speaking about traumatic events, thus, my dissertation aims to highlight the Slave and Neo-Slave Narratives importance in the context of contemporary reflections on racism and on the legacy of imperialism. To conclude, by means of tracing back Britain’s connections with slavery, my dissertation shows that contemporary Britain has been shaped by the slave trade and its contemporary situation is urging to remember this past and reflect on it. Through the literary analysis of both British Slave and Neo-Slave Narratives the dissertation adds new perspectives on the representation of slavery in the Britain. Moreover, through the analysis of contemporary Neo-Slave Narratives, this dissertation reveals the contemporary authors’ aim to condemn the racial prejudice and structural inequalities which originates in the colonial period and is still present. The consequences of this amnesia are more than ever visible, and the black world population is asking for their repositioning in history, the recent movement Black Lives Matter is an example of that. My dissertation ultimately shows that literature and art can represent a way to remember the past, deal with the trauma of slavery, and reposition the black population in Britain.

Il Regno Unito si presenta oggi come una realtà multiculturale in cui la diversità è apparentemente più tollerata che in passato; tuttavia, quest’ultima è ancora fortemente temuta e discriminata. Purtroppo, le tensioni e le contraddizioni che il paese presenta oggi, sono l’eredità del passato coloniale e della schiavitù transatlantica: la schiavitù rappresenta, infatti, un fenomeno centrale nella storia inglese, eppure essa sembra essere stata rimossa dalla memoria collettiva. Tale amnesia storica è stata denunciata da scrittori e storici contemporanei quali Andrea Levy, James Walvin, Herbert S. Klein, William D. Phillips e Caryl Phillips tra gli altri. Infatti, negli ultimi decenni, artisti e accademici hanno mostrato un crescente interesse nei confronti della schiavitù, come testimonia la pubblicazione di opere letterarie incentrate su tale tematica. Con l’obiettivo di prendere parte a questo nuovo dibattito e di contribuire alla rivalutazione dell’importanza storica della schiavitù, la mia tesi riflette sulla schiavitù transatlantica attraverso l’analisi di opere letterarie. In particolare, la tesi segue l’evoluzione del genere letterario delle Slave Narratives per dimostrare che questo genere letterario, che è stato a lungo considerato come esclusivamente afroamericano, ha invece un ruolo fondamentale nel contesto inglese. Inizialmente il genere letterario era utilizzato per sostenere la campagna abolizionista, infatti diffondeva importanti informazioni sulla schiavitù e, presentando la prospettiva degli schiavi, li rendeva più umani agli occhi della popolazione bianca e creava empatia nei loro confronti. Oggi, l’evoluzione di questo genere è usata per ristabilire il valore storico delle prime Slave Narratives e per creare connessioni ideali tra la schiavitù e le attuali forme di discriminazione razziale. La tesi adotta la prospettiva teorica fornita dai Trauma Studies, infatti, la schiavitù viene concepita come trauma individuale e collettivo che ha ancora necessità di essere affrontato e superato: le rappresentazioni artistiche della schiavitù possono essere lette come un metodo per affrontare tale trauma e ricontestualizzarlo nella memoria storica; così le rappresentazioni letterarie inglese della schiavitù possono essere analizzate come tentativi di superare il trauma provocato dalla schiavitù. Queste rappresentazioni non sono interessanti solamente a livello letterario, quindi, la mia tesi mira a sottolineare l’importanza delle Slave Narratives e delle Neo-Slave Narratives nel contesto della riflessione contemporanea sul razzismo e sull’eredità dell’imperialismo. Concludendo, la mia tesi evidenzia che il Regno Unito che conosciamo oggi è una conseguenza del periodo coloniale e del coinvolgimento nella tratta degli schiavi e che la situazione attuale richiede una riflessione sul passato. Attraverso l’analisi letteraria delle Slave Narratives e delle evoluzioni contemporanee, la tesi propone nuove prospettive sulla rappresentazione della schiavitù nel contesto britannico. Inoltre, attraverso l’analisi delle Neo-Slave Narratives contemporanee, la tesi rivela l’intento degli autori di condannare il pregiudizio razziale. Le conseguenze dell’eredità del periodo coloniale sono più che mai evidenti e la popolazione nera chiede con forza di trovare posto nella storia, come dimostra il movimento Black Lives Matter. In definitiva, la tesi dimostra che la letteratura e l’arte possono essere utili per ricordare il passato e affrontare il trauma della schiavitù.

La rappresentazione letteraria della schiavitù transatlantica nel contesto culturale britannico: l’evoluzione letteraria dalle Slave Narratives alle Neo-Slave Narratives / Federica Tazzioli , 2022 Nov 18. 34. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2020/2021.

La rappresentazione letteraria della schiavitù transatlantica nel contesto culturale britannico: l’evoluzione letteraria dalle Slave Narratives alle Neo-Slave Narratives

TAZZIOLI, FEDERICA
2022

Abstract

Britain appears today as a multicultural nation, however, racial diversity, apparently more tolerated than in the past, is still problematic and feared; indeed, contemporary racial tensions and contradictions are the living legacy of the country’s colonial past and involvement with slavery. Clearly, slavery played a key role in British history, and yet it seems to have been largely forgotten by the collective British memory; the British amnesia is indicted by both writers and historians such as Andrea Levy, James Walvin, Herbert S. Klein, William D. Phillips and Caryl Phillips. However, this situation is slowly changing: recently scholars’ and artists’ interest in slavery has grown, as testified by the publication of literary works dealing with the subject of slavery. By reflecting on the heritage of Transatlantic Slavery, my dissertation aims to participate in the recent academic debate over slavery and in the process of reevaluation of slavery’s legacies in the contemporary period. My dissertation analyzes the literary representations of slavery, following the evolutions of the literary genre of the Slave Narrative, and my aim is to demonstrate that this literary genre, which has long been considered as an exclusively African American genre, has played a key role for Britain. This literary genre was initially used to support the abolitionist campaign by raising awareness about slavery and creating empathy towards the slaves; however, it is now used to both reestablish the historical value of the early Slave Narratives, and to metaphorically create connections between Transatlantic Slavery and the present days racial discriminations. My dissertation follows the perspective provided by the Trauma Studies, indeed, I conceive Transatlantic Slavery as both individual and collective trauma, for both the white and the black population, this trauma still needs to be tackled: artistic representations of slavery can be considered as a way to bring it to light, and find slavery’s place in human history and memory; thus, the literary representations of slavery produced in in Britain can be read as attempts to overcome the trauma of slavery. Not only the creation of literary representations of collective traumas such as the Slave Narrative, and its evolution are interesting on a literary level, but they are also considered to have the same therapeutic function as speaking about traumatic events, thus, my dissertation aims to highlight the Slave and Neo-Slave Narratives importance in the context of contemporary reflections on racism and on the legacy of imperialism. To conclude, by means of tracing back Britain’s connections with slavery, my dissertation shows that contemporary Britain has been shaped by the slave trade and its contemporary situation is urging to remember this past and reflect on it. Through the literary analysis of both British Slave and Neo-Slave Narratives the dissertation adds new perspectives on the representation of slavery in the Britain. Moreover, through the analysis of contemporary Neo-Slave Narratives, this dissertation reveals the contemporary authors’ aim to condemn the racial prejudice and structural inequalities which originates in the colonial period and is still present. The consequences of this amnesia are more than ever visible, and the black world population is asking for their repositioning in history, the recent movement Black Lives Matter is an example of that. My dissertation ultimately shows that literature and art can represent a way to remember the past, deal with the trauma of slavery, and reposition the black population in Britain.
Literary Representations of Transatlantic Slavery in the British Context: from the Slave Narratives to the Neo-Slave Narratives
18-nov-2022
BUONANNO, Giovanna
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1291706
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