Reviews for Black Cosmopolitanism: Racial Consciousness and Transnational Identity in the Nineteenth-Century Americas

The average rating for Black Cosmopolitanism: Racial Consciousness and Transnational Identity in the Nineteenth-Century Americas based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-10-22 00:00:00 Scott Heath Nwankwo's fundamental point in this book is that nineteenth-century black intellectuals like Martin Delany, Frederick Douglass, the Cubans Plácido and Juan Francisco Manzano, and Mary Prince developed notions of blackness that were, in their own ways, transnational. One of the consequences of the Haïtian Revolution was that white people demanded that black people -- particularly the ones who seemed to want access to more rights -- define themselves in relation to the blood shed in Haïti. Ultimately, she argues that cosmopolitanism was a tactic appropriated by these intellectuals in order to defend their humanity, though she admits that in some cases it was more effective (Delany) than others (Douglass). Three stars for an insightful premise and strong readings of Delany and Manzano. I was disappointed in the (lack of) evidence provided in the chapters on Douglass.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-03-16 00:00:00 Joseph Pisano Not something I would read for fun, but relevant reading for one of my detective essays.