Description
Book SynopsisSpeaking of the Moor explores why the Moor became a central character on the English stage at the turn of the sixteenth century. Looking closely at key early modern dramatic and historical texts, the book uncovers the Moor's complex identity as a Mediterranean figure poised provocatively between European and non-European worlds.
Trade Review"Bartels is one of the first, and certainly one of the most influential, literary critics to emphasize the crucial point that before the onset of the Atlantic slave trade, Africa's place in early modern English conceptualizations was open ended. She shows with great clarity that narratives of Africa were diverse and unpredictable." * Mary Floyd-Wilson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill *
"Bartels discovers a surprising openness in the treatment of the Moor in early modern England. Her book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the formative history of race and color." * Michael Neill, University of Auckland *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: On Sitting Down to Read Othello Once Again
Ch. 1 Enter Barbary: The Battle of Alcazar and "the World"
Ch. 2 Imperialist Beginnings: Hakluyt's Navigations and the Place and Displacement of Africa
Ch. 3 "Incorporate in Rome": Titus Andronicus and the Consequence of Conquest
Ch. 4 Too Many Blackamoors: Deportation, Discrimination, and Elizabeth I
Ch. 5 Banishing "all the Moors": Lust's Dominion and the Story of Spain
Ch. 6 Cultural Traffic: The History and Description of Africa and the Unmooring of the Moor
Ch. 7 The "stranger of here and everywhere": Othello and the Moor of Venice
Conclusion: A Brave New World
Notes
Bibliography
Index
