Publication: A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery – The Atlantic World and Beyond Volume I: Slavery, literature and the emotions
Vol. 1 of the Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery, edited by Madeleine Dobie, Mads Anders Baggesgaard and Karen-Margrethe Simonsenhas just been published by John Benjamins Press.
This first of three volumes of A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery explores literary representations of slavery with a focus on the emotions. Approaching slavery as an affective as well as an economic practice, contributions consider how, across a historical period stretching from the 16th century to the present and across regions, languages and genres ranging from poetry and the novel to travel literature and correspondence, the range of emotions that it generated are represented. The seventeen chapters explore different framings of emotional life in terms of ‘sentiments’ and ‘affects,’ consider how emotions intersect with literary registers and movements such as melodrama and realism, and examine how writers, including formerly enslaved people, sought to activate the feelings of readers, notably in the context of abolitionism. Looking beyond obvious psychological responses to slavery such as fear, sorrow and anger, contributors explore minor-key affects such as shame, disgust and nostalgia and address the complexity of depicting love and intimacy in situations of domination. [Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages, XXXVI] 2024. x