Overview

Drawing on a rich tapestry of historical analysis, literary criticism, and cultural theory, Hazel Carby interrogates how racial fictions have been constructed, maintained, and weaponized across centuries to justify systems of domination and exploitation. Traversing global geographies and temporalities, Racial Fictions reveals the interconnectedness of America's domestic racial struggles with international colonial ambitions. Carby examines the ideological underpinnings of racial hierarchies, the afterlife of slavery, and the ongoing impact of settler colonialism. The book critically engages with the works of key Black intellectuals such as Anna Julia Cooper and W.E.B. Du Bois, as well as contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter, situating them within a broader narrative of resistance and survival. Carby challenges readers to confront the uncomfortable truths about the persistence of white supremacy, the violence embedded in historical memory, and the silencing of marginalized voices. The result is a profound exploration of the intricate and enduring legacies of race, imperialism, and violence in the formation of modern identities and nation-states.

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9781804299937

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Reviews

Racial Fictions picks up a Black intellectual tradition right where Du Bois left off. A sure-to-be engaging work from one of our best thinkers. * Lit Hub Most Anticipated Books of 2025 *

Author Information

Hazel V. Carby is a co-author of The Empire Strikes Back: Race and Racism in 70s Britain and author of Cultures in Babylon: Black Britain and African America, Race Men, and Reconstructing Womanhood. For three decades she taught at Yale University as the Charles C. and Dorothea S. Dilley Professor of African American Studies and Professor of American Studies.

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