Description
Book SynopsisBianca C. Williams traces the experiences of African American women who travel to Jamaica and form affective relationships Jamaican men and women that help construct notions of diasporic belonging and a form of happiness that resists the damaging intersections of racism and patriarchy in the United States.
Trade Review"Breathtaking. . . . Simply reading this book felt like an act of self-care for me—a breath of fresh air." -- Erica Lorraine Williams * Anthrodendum *
"This book will be of interest to scholars in many fields, such as Black feminist studies, transnational and diaspora studies, and the anthropology of tourism and mobility. I particularly want to highlight the book’s contribution to affect studies, given Williams’ careful attention to the ways in which her interlocutors’ emotions are influenced by their racial, gendered, classed, and national subjectivities." -- Dannah Dennis * Journal for the Anthropology of North America *
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The Pursuit of Happiness is an insightful and engrossing book about African-American women on topics few readers are privileged to hear about or understand." -- Jualynne E. Dodson * American Journal of Sociology *
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The Pursuit of Happiness challenges white-centric understandings of Caribbean tourism, male-centric understandings of black diasporic connections, and youth-centric notions of leisure and emotional fulfillment. Williams's positioning of African American women as agents is especially remarkable. ... [This book] makes a vital contribution to transnational black feminist thought and feminist geography, African Diaspora studies, critical race studies, Caribbean studies, tourism studies, and cultural anthropology by centering black women's emotions and transnational mobilities within these fields." -- Nicosia Shakes * Anthropological Quarterly *
"
The Pursuit of Happiness is a beautifully written text which humanizes the lives, experiences, and desires of Black women. There are few exceptions wherein scholarly texts examines the experiences of U.S. Black women beyond the borders of the U.S. Williams' work is a guiding light as to how this may be successfully and meaningfully done in future works." -- Antwann Michael Simpkins * Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction. "Jamaica Crawled Into My Soul": Black Women, Affect, and the Promise of Diaspora 1
Interlude 27
1. More Than a Groove: Pursuing Happiness as a Political Project 31
Interlude 63
2. "Giving Back" to Jamaica: Experiencing Community and Conflict While Traveling with Diasporic Heart 65
Interlude 95
3. Why Jamaica? Seeking the Fantasy of a Black Paradise 99
Interlude 121
4. Breaking (It) Down: Gender, Emotional Entanglements, and the Realities of Romance Tourism 123
Interlude 159
5. Navigating (Virtual) Jamaica: Online Diasporic Contact Zones 163
Interlude 185
Epilogue. Lessons Learned 187
Notes 197
Bibliography 209
Index 221
