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The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

According to the German author, essayist, and empirical psychologist Karl Philipp Moritz, to be able to analyze someone psychologically, we have to be able to analyze ourselves as one would know oneself better than one would know anyone else. Therefore, he proposed the study of autobiographies to be...

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Main Author: Badawi, Mariam
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Badawi, Mariam
author_browse Badawi, Mariam
author_facet Badawi, Mariam
author_sort Badawi, Mariam
collection Thesis
description According to the German author, essayist, and empirical psychologist Karl Philipp Moritz, to be able to analyze someone psychologically, we have to be able to analyze ourselves as one would know oneself better than one would know anyone else. Therefore, he proposed the study of autobiographies to be able to delve into a writer's "innermost soul"; through their knowledge of themselves" (qtd. in Schlumbohm 32). Moreover, "the psychological effect that the ideology of white supremacy and European imperialism, in the form of slavery and colonialism, has had on Africa and her people has never been fully addressed and understood" (Nobles 233). Slave narratives provide insights into the slaves' consciousness and the impact slavery has left on such consciousness as well as the rippling effect it has left in its wake on the slaves' descendants. Thus, to be able to better understand the impact on the Black race in general, for the slaves and their descendants, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831), and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) have been chosen for my thesis to analyze, focusing on slaves' characters as well as the impact slavery and colonialism have left on their minds and consciousness. Beforehand, we need to define the term "consciousness," as it is not limited to the dictionary definition of a person's awareness. Rather it encompasses how the person places themselves in the world, views their rank among other citizens of the world, and perceives and builds their understanding of the world. The constructs they build in turn impact and/or shape the person's relationships, interactions, sense of entitlement and rights, as well as self-esteem and self-worth. The oppression that silenced the slaves during those times helped them find an outlet for their voice through writing narratives. Therefore, the aforementioned narratives will serve as material for analysis of the impact of slavery from the perspective of African Americans to counter the impact that white supremacy and oppression have left on the perspectives of other writings or historical documents.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3126 The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Badawi, Mariam According to the German author, essayist, and empirical psychologist Karl Philipp Moritz, to be able to analyze someone psychologically, we have to be able to analyze ourselves as one would know oneself better than one would know anyone else. Therefore, he proposed the study of autobiographies to be able to delve into a writer's "innermost soul"; through their knowledge of themselves" (qtd. in Schlumbohm 32). Moreover, "the psychological effect that the ideology of white supremacy and European imperialism, in the form of slavery and colonialism, has had on Africa and her people has never been fully addressed and understood" (Nobles 233). Slave narratives provide insights into the slaves' consciousness and the impact slavery has left on such consciousness as well as the rippling effect it has left in its wake on the slaves' descendants. Thus, to be able to better understand the impact on the Black race in general, for the slaves and their descendants, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831), and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) have been chosen for my thesis to analyze, focusing on slaves' characters as well as the impact slavery and colonialism have left on their minds and consciousness. Beforehand, we need to define the term "consciousness," as it is not limited to the dictionary definition of a person's awareness. Rather it encompasses how the person places themselves in the world, views their rank among other citizens of the world, and perceives and builds their understanding of the world. The constructs they build in turn impact and/or shape the person's relationships, interactions, sense of entitlement and rights, as well as self-esteem and self-worth. The oppression that silenced the slaves during those times helped them find an outlet for their voice through writing narratives. Therefore, the aforementioned narratives will serve as material for analysis of the impact of slavery from the perspective of African Americans to counter the impact that white supremacy and oppression have left on the perspectives of other writings or historical documents. 2023-06-15T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2086 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3126/viewcontent/Impact_of_Slavery_and_Colonialism_on_the_Black_Consciousness.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Slavery Colonialism Black Consciousness Construction of race Frederick Douglass Nat Turner Harriet Jacobs slave narratives racism autobiographies afro-pessimism fanon African American Studies Africana Studies American Studies Comparative Literature Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
spellingShingle Slavery
Colonialism
Black Consciousness
Construction of race
Frederick Douglass
Nat Turner
Harriet Jacobs
slave narratives
racism
autobiographies
afro-pessimism
fanon
African American Studies
Africana Studies
American Studies
Comparative Literature
Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
Badawi, Mariam
The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title_full The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title_fullStr The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title_short The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism on the Black Consciousness: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Confessions of Nat Turner, and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
title_sort impact of slavery and colonialism on the black consciousness narrative of the life of frederick douglass the confessions of nat turner and incidents in the life of a slave girl
topic Slavery
Colonialism
Black Consciousness
Construction of race
Frederick Douglass
Nat Turner
Harriet Jacobs
slave narratives
racism
autobiographies
afro-pessimism
fanon
African American Studies
Africana Studies
American Studies
Comparative Literature
Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2086
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3126/viewcontent/Impact_of_Slavery_and_Colonialism_on_the_Black_Consciousness.pdf
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