Signs of Diaspora / Diaspora of Signs Literacies, Creolization, and Vernacular Practice in African America |
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Author:
| Gundaker, Grey |
Series title: | Commonwealth Center Studies in American Culture Ser. |
ISBN: | 978-0-19-510769-2 |
Publication Date: | Jul 1998 |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press, Incorporated
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Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | USD $215.00 |
Book Description:
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Challenging monolithic approaches to culture and literacy, Gerry Gundaker looks at the roots of African-American reading and writing from the perspective of vernacular activities and creolization. He shows that African-Americans, while readily mastering the conventions and canons of Euro-America, also drew on knowledge of their own to make an oppositional repertoire of signs and meanings. Through 95 vivid illustrations of objects ranging from stuffed Snoopy dolls and mailboxes to...
More DescriptionChallenging monolithic approaches to culture and literacy, Gerry Gundaker looks at the roots of African-American reading and writing from the perspective of vernacular activities and creolization. He shows that African-Americans, while readily mastering the conventions and canons of Euro-America, also drew on knowledge of their own to make an oppositional repertoire of signs and meanings. Through 95 vivid illustrations of objects ranging from stuffed Snoopy dolls and mailboxes to graffiti and inverted flower pots, Gundaker highlights the way in which African-American culture combined and transformed resources from previously divergent traditions to create a unique, non-traditional mode of expression.