Fighting Words: Fifteen Books that Shaped the Postcolonial World (Race and Resistance Across Borders in the Long Twentieth Century)

Can a book change the world? If books were integral to the creation of the imperial global order, what role have they played in resisting that order throughout the twentieth century? To what extent have theories and movements of anti-imperial and anticolonial resistance across the planet been shaped by books as they are read across the world? __Fighting Words__ responds to these questions by examining how the book as a cultural form has fuelled resistance to empire in the long twentieth century. Through fifteen case studies that bring together literary, historical and book historical perspectives, this collection explores the ways in which books have circulated anti-imperial ideas, as they themselves have circulated as objects and commodities within regional, national and transnational networks. What emerges is a complex portrait of the vital and multifaceted role played by the book in both the formation and the form of anticolonial resistance, and the development of the postcolonial world. Cover Contents Introduction to Race and Resistance Across Borders in the Long Twentieth Century (Tessa Roynon / Elleke Boehmer / Stephen Tuck) List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction: Fighting Words: Books and the Making of the Postcolonial World (Dominic Davies / Erica Lombard / Benjamin Mountford) Paper Empires: Books and Imperial History Going Viral: Global Histories of the Book Building Resistance: Books and the Making of the Postcolonial World Fighting Words: A Postcolonial Reading List Bibliography 1 From Communism to Postcapitalism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s The Communist Manifesto (1848) (Dominic Davies) The Manifesto as World Literature The Manifesto and Anticolonialism The Manifesto and Postcapitalism Bibliography 2 Anna Julia Cooper’s A Voice from the South (1892): Black Feminism and Human Rights (Imaobong Umoren) Anna Julia Cooper: The Early Years The Text The Post-1960s Reception of A Voice from the South Bibliography 3 Ambivalence, Admiration and Empire: Emily Hobhouse’s The Brunt of the War and Where it Fell (1902) (Christina Twomey) The Brunt of the War and Where it Fell The Reception of The Brunt of the War Bibliography 4 W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk (1903): Of the Veil and the Color-Line, Of Double-Consciousness and Second-Sight (Reiland Rabaka) Of the Souls of Black Folk Of the Veil and the Color-Line Of Double-Consciousness and Second-Sight Of the Interdisciplinary Legacy of The Souls of Black Folk Bibliography 5 Wake Up, India: A Plea for Social Reform (1913): Annie Besant’s Anticolonial Networks (Priyasha Mukhopadhyay) Wake Up, India and the Theosophical Anti-Empire Falling on Deaf Ears? Bibliography 6 Sol Plaatje’s Native Life in South Africa (1916): The Politics of Belonging (Janet Remmington) The ‘Little Book’ and the ‘Outer World’ Publication, ‘Peregrination’ and Postcolonial Contours Conclusion: The Book and Belonging Bibliography 7 Making Freedom: Jawaharlal Nehru’s An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946) (Elleke Boehmer) Foundational Texts ‘Taking Hold of Time’: Calling Out and Identification Conclusion Bibliography 8 Joseph B. Danquah’s The Akan Doctrine of God (1944): Anticolonial Fragments? (Rouven Kunstmann) Fragments of History The Genesis of the Book The Arguments The Ghana Hypothesis The Scholarly Community Fragments of a Doctrine Bibliography 9 The Resistant Forces of Myth: Miguel Ángel Asturias’s Men of Maize (1949) (Johanna Richter) Introduction The Power of Dreams and Myths The Book and Its Readers Indigenous Form and Fighting Words Contemporary Resonances Bibliography 10 The Hip-Hop Legacies of Cheikh Anta Diop’s Nations nègres et culture (1954) (Ruth Bush) Writing Nations nègres et culture Reading Nations nègres et culture Cheikh Anta Diop in the Twenty-First Century Bibliography 11 Culture in Transition: Rajat Neogy’s Transition (1961–1968) and the Decolonization of African Literature (Asha Rogers) Culture in Transition Global Sponsors, Government Readers Conclusion Bibliography 12 Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth (1961): The Spectre of the Third World Project (John Narayan) Third World Dreams Neo-imperial Nightmares Spectres of Liberation Bibliography 13 ‘The Match is in the Spinifex’: Frank Hardy’s The Unlucky Australians (1968) (Benjamin Mountford) ‘For the first time in years a book is demanding to be written’ How Do You Plead? The Long Crossing Bibliography 14 Provenance, Identification and Confession in Sally Morgan’s My Place (1987) (Michael R. Griffiths) Provenance Identification Confession Bibliography 15 Freedom Fighter/Postcolonial Saint: The Symbolic Legacy of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom (1994) (Erica Lombard) The Book Freedom Fighter/Postcolonial Saint Post-Mandela Bibliography Afterword: Plotting a Postcolonial Course in Fifteen Chapters (Antoinette Burton / Isabel Hofmeyr) Notes on Contributors Index Can A Book Change The World? 'fighting Words' Looks At How The Book Has Fuelled Resistance To Empire In The Long Twentieth Century. What Emerges Is A Complex Portrait Of The Vital And Multifaceted Role Played By The Book In Both The Formation And The Form Of Anticolonial Resistance, And The Development Of The Postcolonial World. From Communism To Postcapitalism : Karl Marx And Friedrich Engels's The Communist Manifesto (1848) / Dominic Davies -- Anna Julia Cooper's A Voice From The South (1892) : Black Feminism And Human Rights / Imaobong Umoren -- Emily Hobhouse, The Brunt Of The War And Where It Fell / Christina Twomey -- W.e.b. Du Bois's The Souls Of Black Folk (1903) : Of The Veil And The Colour-line, Of Double-consciousness And Second-sight / Reiland Rabaka -- Wake Up, India : A Plea For Social Reform (1913) : Annie Besant's Anti-colonial Networks / Priyasha Mukhopadhyay -- Sol Plaatje's Native Life In South Africa (1916) : The Politics Of Belonging / Janet Remmington -- Making Freedom : Jawaharlal Nehru's An Autobiography (1936) And The Discovery Of India (1946) / Elleke Boehmer -- Joseph B. Danquah's The Akan Doctrine Of God (1944) : Anticolonial Fragments? / Rouven Kunstmann -- The Resistant Forces Of Myth : Miguel Ángel Asturias's Men Of Maize (1949) / Johanna Richter -- The Hip-hop Legacies Of Cheikh Anta Diop's Nations Nègres Et Culture (1954) / Ruth Bush -- Culture In Transition : Rajat Neogy's Transition (1961-8) And The Decolonization Of African Literature / Asha Rogers -- Frantz Fanon's The Wretched Of The Earth (1961) : The Spectre Of The Third World Project / John Narayan -- The Match Is In The Spinifex : Frank Hardy, The Unlucky Australians (1968) / Benjamin Mountford -- Provenance, Identification And Confession In Sally Morgan's My Place (1987) / Michael R. Griffiths -- Freedom Fighter/postcolonial Saint : The Symbolic Legacy Of Nelson Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom (1994) / Erica Lombard. Edited By Dominic Davies, Erica Lombard And Benjamin Mountford. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Can a book change the world? If books were integral to the creation of the imperial global order, what role have they played in resisting that order throughout the twentieth century? To what extent have theories and movements of anti-imperial and anticolonial resistance across the planet been shaped by books as they are read across the world? This updated edition of Fighting Words responds to these questions by examining how the book as a cultural form has fuelled resistance to empire in the long twentieth century. Through fifteen case studies that bring together literary, historical and book historical perspectives, this collection explores the ways in which books have circulated anti-imperial ideas, as they themselves have circulated as objects and commodities within regional, national and transnational networks. What emerges is a complex portrait of the vital and multifaceted role played by the book in both the formation and the form of anticolonial resistance, and the development of the postcolonial world.