Frederick Douglass's Curious Audiences
Ethos in the Age of the Consumable Subject
Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Black, American
| Author: | Terry Baxter | ISBN: | 9781135876975 |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis | Publication: | May 1, 2004 |
| Imprint: | Routledge | Language: | English |
| Author: | Terry Baxter |
| ISBN: | 9781135876975 |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis |
| Publication: | May 1, 2004 |
| Imprint: | Routledge |
| Language: | English |
This book attempts to answer a fundamental question: How did Douglass manage to persuade anyone about the evils of slavery, and even impress viewers with his personal qualities, when his speeches were commonly considered mere entertainment, in the same category as Barnum's circus acts? In answering this question, Terry Baxter provides a means of understanding the positive responses of Frederick Douglass's white audiences and African American celebrities' roles as both objects of consumption and vehicles for social change.
This book attempts to answer a fundamental question: How did Douglass manage to persuade anyone about the evils of slavery, and even impress viewers with his personal qualities, when his speeches were commonly considered mere entertainment, in the same category as Barnum's circus acts? In answering this question, Terry Baxter provides a means of understanding the positive responses of Frederick Douglass's white audiences and African American celebrities' roles as both objects of consumption and vehicles for social change.
