Performing Bodies and Performative Texts: the bodily culture of the Antebellum United States and fleshy writing

Abstract

"Performing Bodies and Performative Texts" explores the reciprocal relations between black and white Americans in antebellum culture as both performers and observers. This dissertation covers the roughly twenty-year span, from the Amistad revolt in 1839 to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, when the lived experiences of slaves were introduced ever more audibly and visibly through live testimonials at antislavery fairs in the North. Looking at sentimental novels, slave narratives, and the popular press in this period, I introduce the concept of "fleshy writing" as it helps us understand the bodily performances of racially and sexually embodied subjectivity.