Resonances of Slavery in Race/Gender Relations : Shadow at the Heart of American Politics

Jane Flax argues that a reciprocal relationship exists between unconscious processes and race/gender domination. She then advances the idea that unless we attend to these unconscious processes, no adequate remedy for the malignant consequences of our current race/gender practices and relations can be devised. Wide-ranging, Flax supports her arguments using a variety of sources, including psychoanalytic theory, feminist theory, political theory, Michel Foucault's writings, President Obama's books and speeches, critical race theory, data on race/gender disparities, and analysis of contemporary Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 7 Series Foreword 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction We Aren’t There Yet 12 1 Shadow at the Heart: Race/Gender Domination and the Melancholia of American Politics 18 2 Melancholia: A Genealogy 36 3 Fabricating Subjectivity: Monster’s Ball, The Deep End, and Crash as Enactments of Race/Gender in the Contemporary United States 52 4 Paradise Lost: Race/Gender Melancholia and the Limits of Political Liberalism 79 5 Politics for Fallen Angels: Subjectivity, Democratic Citizenship, and Undoing Race/Gender Melancholia 106 6 In-Conclusion: Remedies and Constraints 138 Notes 161 References 199 Index 214 Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-6 Shadow at the Heart: Race/Gender Domination and the Melancholia of American Politics....Pages 7-24 Melancholia: A Genealogy....Pages 25-40 Fabricating Subjectivity: Monster’s Ball, The Deep End, and Crash as Enactments of Race/Gender in the Contemporary United States....Pages 41-67 Paradise Lost: Race/Gender Melancholia and the Limits of Political Liberalism....Pages 69-95 Politics for Fallen Angels: Subjectivity, Democratic Citizenship, and Undoing Race/Gender Melancholia....Pages 97-128 In-Conclusion: Remedies and Constraints....Pages 129-151 Back Matter....Pages 153-223