Category: african american literature

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+ Achille Mbembe, african american literature, algeria, france, the stone face, whiteness, william gardner smith

The Illusion of Safety in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face, as I have written about over the past few posts, revolves around the tension that Simeon feels about living in Paris as the Civil Rights Movement occurs back in the United States. Simeon’s conflict arose partly from Smith’s own experiences as an expatriate in France but also from the experiences of other African America expatriate writes in France … Read More The Illusion of Safety in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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+ african american art, african american literature, algeria, the stone face, william gardner smith

“We’re not racist!”: France in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

Recently, I’ve been looking at “whiteness” in William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face. Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking further at Simeon’s interactions with Ahmed and Hossein, specifically on going to Hossein’s apartment in Paris. While Simeon, earlier in the novel, recognizes, through his “double perspective,” the atrocities that the French enact upon the Algerians, the movement through the, as Simeon … Read More “We’re not racist!”: France in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, france, race, william gardner smith

“Come die with me!”: Whiteness in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

Last post, I started looking at William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face, a novel that, as Adam Shatz points out, presents whiteness not as a racial trait but as “a synonym for situational privilege.” Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking at Simeon’s dream sequence after he speaks with the Algerians at the cafe who call him “white.” This sequence takes place … Read More “Come die with me!”: Whiteness in William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, colonization, france, race, william gardner smith

“How does it feel to be a white man?” William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

by Unknown's avatar

Working on my syllabus for my upcoming “Black Expatriate Writers in France” class, I came across William Gardner Smith’s The Stone Face (1963), and even though the course focuses on Southern France (Marseille and Nice), I decided to include Smith’s novel, which is set in Paris, because of its depiction of French colonial racism against Algerians and itd depiction of the Paris Massacre of … Read More “How does it feel to be a white man?” William Gardner Smith’s “The Stone Face”

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+ african american literature, france, harlem renaissance, history, jessie fauset, Literature, race

Jessie Redmon Fauset’s “Comedy: American Style” and the Psychological Impact on Racism

by Unknown's avatar

As I was constructing my syllabus for my upcoming “Black Expatriate Writers in France” syllabus, I wanted to make sure I had at least one text by an African American woman author. Since I as focusing on the South of France, specifically Provence (Avignon, Marseille, and Nice), I wanted texts that either took part, entirely, in the region or partly in the region. I … Read More Jessie Redmon Fauset’s “Comedy: American Style” and the Psychological Impact on Racism

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