Black Enslaved Woman: Her Unique Plight

Mgr. Milijana Jović

Master's thesis

Anotácia:

The story of black female slaves differs from the story of male ones in many ways. This thesis illustrates physical, emotional and psychological destruction caused by the institution of slavery, a devastation that deformed black female’s concept of self, beauty and sexuality and continued to haunt former female slaves even in freedom as well as black women who were born long after slavery. African-American women had to struggle against deep–rooted misconceptions about their race. Thanks to the brave and intelligent black women of the slavery era such as Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Copper and many others who raised their voices against slavery, challenged male dominance, given norms and traditional roles of the patriarchal society and prompted many black women into action as well as many black female authors who by voicing their experience or by creating their characters drew attention to the roots of black women's oppression and offered help and solution to it.

Abstract:

The story of black female slaves differs from the story of male ones in many ways. This thesis illustrates physical, emotional and psychological destruction caused by the institution of slavery, a devastation that deformed black female’s concept of self, beauty and sexuality and continued to haunt former female slaves even in freedom as well as black women who were born long after slavery. African-American women had to struggle against deep–rooted misconceptions about their race. Thanks to the brave and intelligent black women of the slavery era such as Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth, Anna Julia Copper and many others who raised their voices against slavery, challenged male dominance, given norms and traditional roles of the patriarchal society and prompted many black women into action as well as many black female authors who by voicing their experience or by creating their characters drew attention to the roots of black women’s oppression and offered help and solution to it.

Keywords

race, institution of rape, stereotypes, feminism, sense of identity, self-worth, black women, motherhood, patriarchy, sexism, true womanhood, black family, mammy, tragic mulatto, picaninny, Jezebel

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 6. 5. 2009

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 18. 6. 2009
• Vedúci: B.A. Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / odbor:
Teacher Training for Secondary Schools / Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in English Language and Literature