About the book
According to nineteenth-century racial uplift ideology, African American women served their race best as reformers and activists, or as “doers of the word.” In Belabored Professions, Xiomara Santamarina examines the autobiographies of four women who diverged from that ideal and defended the legitimacy of their self-supporting wage labor.
Santamarina focuses on The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Eliza Potter’s A Hairdresser’s Experience in High Life, Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig, and Elizabeth Keckley’s Behind the Scenes. She argues that beyond black reformers' calls for abolitionist work, these former slaves and freeborn black women wrote about their own overlooked or disparaged work as socially and culturally valuable to the nation. They promoted the status of wage labor as a mark of self-reliance and civic virtue when many viewed African American working women as “drudges.” As Santamarina demonstrates, these texts offer modern readers new perspectives on the emergence of the vital African American autobiographical tradition, dramatizing the degree to which black working women participated in and shaped American rhetorics of labor, race, and femininity.
Editions of Belabored Professions
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780807829813
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780807856482
- EBook
- ISBN 9780807877005
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890879110
Read an Excerpt
According to nineteenth-century racial uplift ideology, African American women served their race best as reformers and activists, or as “doers of the word.” In Belabored Professions, Xiomara Santamarina examines the autobiographies of four women who diverged from that ideal and defended the legitimacy of their self-supporting wage labor.
Santamarina focuses on The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Eliza Potter’s A Hairdresser’s Experience in High Life, Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig, and Elizabeth Keckley’s Behind the Scenes. She argues that beyond black reformers' calls for abolitionist work, these former slaves and freeborn black women wrote about their own overlooked or disparaged work as socially and culturally valuable to the nation. They promoted the status of wage labor as a mark of self-reliance and civic virtue when many viewed African American working women as “drudges.” As Santamarina demonstrates, these texts offer modern readers new perspectives on the emergence of the vital African American autobiographical tradition, dramatizing the degree to which black working women participated in and shaped American rhetorics of labor, race, and femininity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Belabored Professions about?
According to nineteenth-century racial uplift ideology, African American women served their race best as reformers and activists, or as “doers of the word.” In Belabored Professions, Xiomara Santamarina examines the autobiographies of four women who diverged from that ideal and defended the legitimacy of their self-supporting wage labor.
Santamarina focuses on The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Eliza Potter’s A Hairdresser’s Experience in High Life, Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig, and Elizabeth Keckley’s Behind the Scenes. She argues that beyond black reformers' calls for abolitionist work, these former slaves and freeborn black women wrote about their own overlooked or disparaged work as socially and culturally valuable to the nation. They promoted the status of wage labor as a mark of self-reliance and civic virtue when many viewed African American working women as “drudges.” As Santamarina demonstrates, these texts offer modern readers new perspectives on the emergence of the vital African American autobiographical tradition, dramatizing the degree to which black working women participated in and shaped American rhetorics of labor, race, and femininity.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Belabored Professions?
Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity
Where can I read a sample of Belabored Professions?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807829813
How long is Belabored Professions and how many pages does it have?
Belabored Professions has 240 page(s)
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Belabored Professions?
Xiomara Santamarina
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Belabored Professions is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807829813) and paperback(ISBN 9780807856482) and ebook(ISBN 9780807877005) and pdf(ISBN 9798890879110)
Where can I buy Belabored Professions online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Belabored Professions from below
Where can I buy Belabored Professions?