Women Activists and Civil Rights Leaders in Auto/Biographical Literature and Films

This collective book offers new insight on the genres of biography and autobiography by examining the singular path of those deemed to be ‘outsiders’, such as Winnie Mandela, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X and Harvey Milk. Its specific focus on these female leaders and civil rights activists, who refused to be constrained by gender, race and class, shifts attention away from the great men of history and places it solely on those who have transformed their personal lives into a fight for collective goals. With an interdisciplinary approach that looks at literature, cinema and cultural studies, __Women Activists and Civil Rights Leaders in Auto/Biographical Literature and Cinema__ argues that life writing is a key source of artistic creativity and activism which enables us to take a fresh look at history. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction (Delphine Letort, Benaouda Lebdai)....Pages 1-9 Front Matter ....Pages 11-11 Winnie Madikizela Mandela: The Construction of a South African Political Icon (Benaouda Lebdai)....Pages 13-32 “Revoluting” or Writing? Ahdaf Soueif and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution (Jacqueline Jondot)....Pages 33-43 Autobiography of an Activist: Sophonisba Breckinridge, “Champion of the Championless” (Anya Jabour)....Pages 45-63 Lean In and Tell Me a (True) Story: Sheryl Sandberg’s Revision of Feminist History (Tanya Ann Kennedy)....Pages 65-88 Front Matter ....Pages 89-89 The Many Lives of Ida B. Wells: Autobiography, Historical Biography, and Documentary (Delphine Letort)....Pages 91-107 Malcolm X: From the Autobiography to Spike Lee’s Film, Two Complementary Perspectives on the Man and the Militant Black Leader (Dominique Dubois)....Pages 109-122 Michelle Obama: The Voice and Embodiment of (African) American History (Pierre-Marie Loizeau)....Pages 123-138 Ghost Writing and Filming Biography in Twelve/12 Years a Slave (Sylvie Charron)....Pages 139-150 Front Matter ....Pages 151-151 Biographical Motion Pictures and the Resuscitation of “Real Lives” (Taïna Tuhkunen)....Pages 153-170 “Negro Girl (meager)”: Black Women’s In/Visibility in Contemporary Films About Slavery (Lisa Botshon, Melinda Plastas)....Pages 171-188 Queering the Biopic? Milk (2008) and the Biographic Real (Isabelle Van Peteghem-Tréard)....Pages 189-205 In Search of Purcell’s Legacy: Tony Palmer’s England, My England (1995) (Nicole Cloarec)....Pages 207-220 Front Matter ....Pages 221-221 Does One Need to Be a Man to Be a Great Man? (Nathalie Prince)....Pages 223-226 Back Matter ....Pages 227-231 "This collective book offers new insight on the genres of biography and autobiography by examining the singular path of those deemed to be 'outsiders', such as Winnie Mandela, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X and Harvey Milk. Its specific focus on these female leaders and civil rights activists, who refused to be constrained by gender, race and class, shifts attention away from the great men of history and places it solely on those who have transformed their personal lives into a fight for collective goals. With an interdisciplinary approach that looks at literature, cinema and cultural studies, Women Activists and Civil Rights Leaders in Auto/Biographical Literature and Cinema argues that life writing is a key source of artistic creativity and activism which enables us to take a fresh look at history."-- Provided by publisher