Love and theft is an original and absolutely brilliant contribution to understanding the politics of cultural production. Eric lott, associate professor department of english eric lott. The historian this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the minstrel show, and understanding the minstrel show is essential to understanding nineteenthcentury american. Program in english offers students a distinguished faculty of scholars, a dynamic cohort of students, and an abundance of cultural resources in new york city. Opera and the mainstreaming of blackface minstrelsy. Previously, he was a faculty member in the department of english at the university of virginia lott received his ph. His book about the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of blackface minstrelsy, love and. Reading minstrel music, lyrics, jokes, burlesque skits, and. Blackness, as the entertainment and sports industries well know, is a prized commodity in american pop culture.
As a sign of the proliferating dissemination of lotts work, the band love and theft took their. Cultural historian eric lott has written and lectured widely on the politics of u. Please subscribe or say hello to stephen and eric at the sites below. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class as want to read. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class, edition 20 ebook written by eric lott. Another notes that eric is, by any measure, a towering figure in the field of american studies. Pdf download love and theft blackface minstrelsy and the. Marketed to white consumers, black culture invites whites to view themselves in a mirror of racial difference, while at the same time offering the illusory reassurance that they remain wholly white. Reading minstrel music, lyrics, jokes, burlesque skits, and illustrations in tandem with workingclass racial ideologies and the sexgender system, love and theft argues that blackface minstrelsy both embodied and disrupted the racial tendencies of its largely white, male, workingclass audiences. The racial unconscious of blackface minstrelsy lott, eric 19920701 00. To this original and erudite study, lott american studiesuniversity of virginia brings a mass of obscure information and a multidisciplinary approach, interpreting the meaning of blackface minstrelsy to the white working classes who invented and performed it. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class race and american culture, issn 20430019. In the book love and theft, eric lott passionately criticizes and.
For over two centuries, america has celebrated the same africanamerican culture it attempts to control and repress, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the strange practice of blackface performance. Love and theft performed the national anthem at game 4 of the first round of the nba eastern conference playoffs at time warner cable arena in charlotte, nc, on monday. Traffic in slave commodities was as defining a racial practice as the preservation of white racial purity. The city university of new york appointment of eric lott as. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class.
The cultural contradictions of american racism 2017 eric lott born 1959 is an american cultural historian and distinguished professor of english at the graduate center, cuny in new york city. The first page of the pdf of this article appears above. Born of extreme racial and class conflicts, the blackface minstrel show appropriated black dialect, music, and dance. Opera and the mainstreaming of blackface minstrelsy volume 1 issue 3 renee lapp norris. Lott makes an incisive, provocative, and stunning analysis of the complex and contradictory ways in which minstrelsy embodied and acted out the class, racial, and sexual politics of its historical moment. Welcome to love and thefts official youtube channel. Eric lott examines the role of the blackface minstrel show in the political struggles of the years leading up to the civil war. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class, has become a touchstone for recent. Project muse william alexander leidesdorff and the. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class, the great feminist and cultural historian alice echols pronounced the dazzling book a model for how to study popular culture.
How bob dylan made prerock masterpiece love and theft. Since the spread of video shops all over america, the warner brothersal jolson 1927 film the jazz singer has been easier than ever. For over two centuries, america has celebrated the very black culture it attempts to control and repress, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the strange practice of blackface performance. The racial unconscious of blackface minstrelsy the boundaries. The racial unconscious of blackface minstrelsy love and theft. Since the spread of video shops all over america, the warner brothersal jolson 1927 film the jazz singer has been easier than ever to see. Whats love got to do with it love and theft in the 21st. Eric lott for over two centuries, america has celebrated the very black culture it attempts to control and repress, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than. Love and theft takes us on a fullblown tour of american song in all its burlesque splendor, which includes, of course, dylans own psychedelic mutations. Eric lott is professor of english and american studies at the graduate center, city university of new york. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class, edition 20. Eric lott for over two centuries, america has celebrated the very black culture it attempts to control and repress, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the strange practice of blackface.
It featured backing by his touring band of the time, with keyboardist augie meyers added for the sessions. Offers an original interpretation of the first and most popular form of nineteenthcentury entertainment. The appropriation of black music, dance, humor, and narratives for commercial entertainment, says lott, expressed the deep racial. Eric lott, formally trained in english, navigates between the scylla of romanticism about workingclass life and the charybdis of lamentations about workingclass vice. May, 2010 and im still carrying the gift you gave, its a part of me now, its been cherished and saved, itll be with me unto the grave and then unto eternity. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class race and american culture by eric lott. Based on the appropriation of black dialect, music. The racial unconscious of blackface minstrelsy eric lott representations, no. It features a new foreword by renowned critic greil marcus that discusses the books influence on american cultural studies as well as its relationship to bob dylans 2001 album of the same name, love and theft. The historian this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the minstrel show, and understanding the minstrel show is essential to understanding nineteenthcentury. Love and theft generally referred to as love and theft is the 31st studio album by american singersongwriter bob dylan, released on september 11, 2001, by columbia records.
The city university of new york appointment of eric. Oct 28, 1993 my title is actually a riff on one of leslie fiedlers. Sep 27, 2001 love and theft takes us on a fullblown tour of american song in all its burlesque splendor, which includes, of course, dylans own psychedelic mutations of the blues. Eric lott born 1959 is an american cultural historian and distinguished professor of english at the graduate center, cuny in new york city. Eric lotts study of minstrelsy and the american working class is a premier indeed, prizewinning example of the stunning results of this approach.
Love and theft by eric lott, 9780195096415, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class 1993, the seminal book by professor eric lott englishcomparative literature, has been named one of billboard s 100 greatest music books of all time. The album continued dylans artistic comeback following 1997s time out of mind and was given an even more enthusiastic reception. In the many excellent theorizations of minstrelsy published over the last few decades, the people and places of the u. While the duo was in perfect harmony for their performance, florida native stephen barker liles left is a devout miami heat fan while eric gunderson details. Eric lott is professor of english and american studies at the graduate center, city university of new york eric lott is the author of love and theft 4. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class could be as somber and austere. Eric lott and foreword by greil marcus race and american culture.
The racial unconscious of blackface minstrelsy i the boundaries separating black and white american cultures in the nineteenth century were marked most vividly along the lines of property and sexuality. In the book love and theft, eric lott passionately criticizes and looks into blackface minstrelsy, which is viewed. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class, which was published in 1993. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class 1993, black mirror. To this original and erudite study, lott american studiesuniversity of virginia brings a mass of obscure information and a multidisciplinary approach, interpreting the meaning of blackface. The title, love and theft, suggests the divided mind of antebellum white workers. His book about the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of blackface. The appropriation of black music, dance, humor, and narratives for commercial entertainment, says lott, expressed the. In addition, lott has written a new afterword that extends the studys range to the twentyfirst century. Born of extreme racial and class conflicts, the blackface minstrel show sometimes served to usefully intensify these conflicts. The racial politics of music and dance in north american slavery. Yet while lois does change physically, there is no moment in which she appears to mock or exaggerate the behaviors of black people. Blackface minstrelsy and the american working class eric lott, greil marcus for over two centuries, america has celebrated the same africanamerican culture it attempts to control and repress, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the strange practice of blackface performance. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account.
215 1177 1091 1021 18 1517 550 432 1112 1329 1314 288 551 609 33 338 981 535 483 120 4 1242 407 99 940 915 1247 1294