The Chaneysville Incident and the Research Narrative in Contemporary African American Literature
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: The Research NarrativeThe literacy narrative-the story of learning to read and write-is central to African American literature from its beginnings to the present.The details and functions of the literacy narrative change over time.Frederick Douglass's Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, A Slave, Written by Himself (1845) is a foundational example: acquiring literacy allows Douglass to write free passes and tell his story in print.The literacy narrative persists in works such as Frances Harper's ballad "Learning to Read" (1872) and James Weldon Johnson's novel The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man (1912), which expands the scope of the genre with stories of the protagonist learning to read and play music and read and speak Spanish.One branch of the varied and growing tree of the literacy narrative is the research narrative, a genre of contemporary African American novels.The research narrative tells a story not of learning to read and write, but rather of a frustrating and pleasurable pursuit of knowledge through long, intense periods of textual study, sometimes requiring the reader to mirror a protagonist's scholarly endurance.Research narratives are confined to the narrow point of view of one character with a singular focus, so the narration is necessarily unreliable.These novels invite readers to oscillate between sympathy for and skepticism of their protagonists.The protagonist of a research narrative is often affiliated with an institution of higher education.1 Research narratives are littered with dissertations and academic books; many of these novels include excerpts from the fictional and real texts that their protagonists study or write.The protagonist of a research narrative may or may not share her knowledge; her purpose is usually her own education and sometimes a better
Source: Studies in the novel
Author: Courtney Thorsson
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4362508490