
Inside the Minstrel Mask
Readings in Nineteenth-Century Blackface Minstrelsy
Wesleyan University Press
Published on 29. December 1996
Book
Paperback/Softback
324 pages
978-0-8195-6300-2 (ISBN)
Description
As the blackface minstrel show evolved from its beginnings in the American Revolution to its peak during the late 1800s, its frenetic dances, low-brow humor, and lively music provided more than mere entertainment. Indeed, these imitations and parodies shaped society's perceptions of African Americans-and of women-as well as made their mark on national identity, policymaking decisions, and other entertainment forms such as vaudeville, burlesque, the revue, and, eventually, film, radio, and television. Gathered here are rare primary materials-including firsthand accounts of minstrel shows, minstrelsy guides, jokes, sketches, and sheet music-and the best of contemporary scholarship on minstrelsy.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
25 illus. 6 tables.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8195-6300-2 (9780819563002)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
ANNEMARIE BEAN is former Managing Editor of The Drama Review. JAMES V. HATCH is Professor of English and Theatre at CUNY and author of Sorrow Is the Only Faithful One (1993). BROOKS McNAMARA is Professor of Performance Studies at NYU and Director of the Schubert Archive. MEL WATKINS is the author of On the Real Side (1994).