The punished self

By Alex Bontemps

Subjects: Southern states, history, Social conditions, Slaves, Südstaaten, History, Psychische Verarbeitung, Slaves, united states, social conditions, Self-preservation, African americans, southern states, Slavery, united states, Zelfbewustzijn, Sklaverei, Psychology, Identity (Psychology), African Americans, Sources, Psychological aspects, Slavery, Zelfwaardering, Slaven (arbeid), Ethnische Beziehungen, Southern States, Southern states, race relations, Race relations, Psychological aspects of Slavery, Slavernij, Psychologische aspecten

Description: "The Punished Self describes enslavement in the American South during the eighteenth century as a systematic assault on blacks' sense of self. Alex Bontemps explores slavery's effects on the captives' framework of self-awareness and understanding. Whites wanted blacks to act out the role "Negro," forcing blacks into a basic dilemma of identity: How to retain an individualized sense of self under the intense pressure to be Negro? Bontemps addresses this dynamic in The Punished Self."--BOOK JACKET.