Queering black power : longing for a hero.

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dc.contributor.advisorChurchill, Lindsey Blake
dc.contributor.authorCaruthers, Biko
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLacher, Katrina
dc.contributor.committeeMemberVaughn, Heidi
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-09T14:39:59Z
dc.date.available2020-07-09T14:39:59Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractBoth Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin had links to the Black Liberation Movements of 1960s and 1970s. Both of these men wrote fiction and social essays on the state of race relations in the United States. Amiri Baraka wrote short stories disavowing homosexuals in his writings. James Baldwin explored queer themes and queer characters in many of his works of fiction during this period. What simultaneously connected and disconnected these two men were their beliefs on human sexuality. While Baraka disavowed his sexuality, James Baldwin openly critiqued the treatment of homosexuals. My thesis explores how Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin discussed black masculinity, Black Liberation, queerness, freedom, and democracy. The brands of masculinity these two men presented in their writings queered them as well as Black Liberation. This created a connection to Gay Liberation. My aim with this project was to provide a lens into understanding Black liberation, Gay liberation, Women's liberation, Third World liberation, and ultimately every movement of liberation against western hegemony as queer movements. I argue that the search for freedom and the disavowal of inauthentic identities coupled with a quest for inclusion in the American freedom project queered Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin. I argue as they wrote to extend freedom to their black bodies, they also queered black liberation. The first chapter opens up with a review of the literature and research on relevant topics relating to Black Liberation, queerness, and black masculinity. Chapter two analyzes the literature and social essays of Amiri Baraka and establishes what I define as queer longing. Chapters three and four examine the literature and social essays of James Baldwin and explain how Baldwin's brand of masculinity queered Black Liberation.
dc.identifier.oclc(OCoLC)on1007538743
dc.identifier.other(AlmaMMSId)9982550885102196
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11244/325042
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author, who has granted UCO Chambers Library the non-exclusive right to share this material in its online repositories. Contact UCO Chambers Library's Digital Initiatives Working Group at diwg@uco.edu for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of this material.
dc.subject.keywordsAfrican American studies
dc.subject.keywordsGender studies
dc.subject.keywordsAmiri Baraka
dc.subject.keywordsBlack liberation
dc.subject.keywordsBlack power
dc.subject.keywordsGay liberation
dc.subject.keywordsJames Baldwin
dc.subject.keywordsQueer
dc.subject.lcshBlack power
dc.subject.lcshGay liberation movement
dc.subject.lcshAfrican American men
dc.subject.lcshQueer theory
dc.thesis.degreeM.A., History
dc.titleQueering black power : longing for a hero.
dc.typeAcademic theses
thesis.degree.grantorJackson College of Graduate Studies.
uco.groupUCO - Graduate Works and Theses::UCO - Theses

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