Martin Japtok

Growing Up Ethnic examines the presence of literary similarities between African American and Jewish American coming-of-age stories in the first half of the twentieth century; often these similarities exceed what could be explained by sociohistorical correspondences alone. Martin Japtok argues that these similarities result from the way both African American and Jewish American authors have conceptualized their "ethnic situation." The issue of "race" and its social repercussions certainly defy any easy comparisons. However, the fact that the ethnic situations are far from identical in the case of these two groups only highlights the striking thematic correspondences in how a number of African American and Jewish American coming-of-age stories construct ethnicity. Japtok studies three pairs of novels--James Weldon Johnson's Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man and Samuel Ornitz's Haunch, Paunch and Jowl, Jessie Fauset's Plum Bun and Edna Ferber's Fanny Herself, and Paule Marshall's Brown Girl, Brownstones and Anzia Yezierska's Bread Giver--and argues that the similarities can be explained with reference to mainly two factors, ultimately intertwined: cultural nationalism and the Bildungsroman genre. Growing Up Ethnic shows that the parallel configurations in the novels, which often see ethnicity in terms of spirituality, as inherent artistic ability, and as communal responsibility, are rooted in nationalist ideology. However, due to the authors' generic choice--the Bildungsroman--the tendency to view ethnicity through the rhetorical lens of communalism and spiritual essence runs head-on into the individualist assumptions of the protagonist-centered Bildungsroman. The negotiations between these ideological counterpoints characterize the novels and reflect and refract the intellectual ferment of their time. This fresh look at ethnic American literatures in the context of cultural nationalism and the Bildungsroman will be of great interest to students and scholars of literary and race studies.

Nationalism and the Bildungsroman in African American and Jewish American Fiction

Growing Up Ethnic

William Salomone

Stephen McDonald

Sonia Gutierrez

THE WRITER'S RESPONSE teaches students not only the basics of paragraph and essay writing—unity, coherence, and support—but also the basics of academic writing, making it a complete source for students preparing for higher-level work. Through a variety of exercises and extensive readings, the text teaches students to read carefully and summarize accurately, to recognize and respond to specific points in the material they have read, to synthesize ideas from several reading selections, and to evaluate and argue about the ideas they have found in their reading material. Although the authors' focus is on writing about reading, they also encourage students to use their personal experiences to develop and support their ideas. This combination results in a text that not only imparts the fundamentals of college-level writing, but also helps each student find his or her own voice—and discover that they do, indeed, have something to say. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

The Writer's Response: A Reading-Based Approach to Writing

Combining postcolonial perspectives with race and,culture based studies, which have merged the,fields of African and black American studies, this,volume concentrates on women writersexploring how the (post) colonial condition is,reflected in women's literature. The essays are,united by their focus on attempts to create,alternative value systems through the rewriting of,history or the reclassification of the woman's,position in society. By examining such strategies,these essays illuminate the diversity and,coherence of the postcolonial project.

Postcolonial Perspectives on Women Writers from Africa, the Caribbean, and the US

The first text to effectively integrate grammar instruction with writing practice, INSIDE WRITING, now in its eighth edition, continues to provide students with extensive writing exercises specifically designed to support and reinforce the rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics. Using engaging allusions and humorous examples and exercises throughout the text, ranging in topics from Karl Marx to THE SIMPSONS, INSIDE WRITING encourages students to look beyond the simple mechanics of writing as they learn to communicate their thoughts clearly and effectively. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Inside Writing: Form A

Jerry Rafiki Jenkins

Human Contradictions in Octavia Butler’s Work continues the critical discussions of Butler’s work by offering a variety of theoretical perspectives and approaches to Butler’s text. This collection contains original essays that engage Butler’s series (Seed to Harvest, Xenogenesis, Parables), her stand-alone novels (Kindred and Fledgling), and her short stories. The essays explore new facets of Butler’s work and its relevance to philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, cultural studies, ethnic studies, women’s studies, religious studies, American studies, and U.S. history. The volume establishes new ways of reading this seminal figure in African American literature, science fiction, feminism, and popular culture.

Martin Japtok

Books

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