"The New Irony of Ishmael Reed against the New Racism of Postracial America"

ŠALAMOUN, Jiří. "The New Irony of Ishmael Reed against the New Racism of Postracial America". In Sämi Ludwig. American Multiculturalism in Context Views from at Home and Abroad. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016, p. 177-188. ISBN 978-1-4438-1691-5.

Basic information

• Original name: "The New Irony of Ishmael Reed against the New Racism of Postracial America"
• Authors: ŠALAMOUN, Jiří (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Newcastle upon Tyne, American Multiculturalism in Context Views from at Home and Abroad, p. 177-188, 12 pp. 2016.
• Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Chapter(s) of a specialized book
• Field of Study: Literature, mass media, audio-visual activities
• Country of publisher: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Publication form: printed version "print"
• WWW: URL
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/16:00092598
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• ISBN: 978-1-4438-1691-5
• Keywords in English: African American literature; satire; irony; overt racism; covert racism; USA
• Tags: International impact

Abstract

The chapter demonstrates how the satire of Ishmael Reed has evolved from a stage which frequently criticises through non-standard sexuality to a stage which frequently criticises through logical argumentation (as can be seen in novels published in 1990s and 2010s). By discussing examples from Reed's 1993 novel Japanese by Spring, the chapter connects these two modes of satire to two types of American racism: overt (present in the public discourse till the Civil Rights Movement) and covert (present in the public discourse after the Civil Rights Movement). It concludes by illustrating that as overt racism became unacceptable in American public discourse, Ishmael Reed updated his satire so that it would be argument-driven and could remain an effective type of social critique even under the new circumstances.

Links

• MUNI/A/1143/2015, interní kód MU: Name: Profilace výzkumných zaměření v anglofonní lingvistické a literární vědě (Acronym: VZALL)

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A