Gruesome Looking Objects: A New History of Lynching and Everyday Things (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781316514023)

The 1898 lynching of Tom Johnson and Joe Kizer is retold in this groundbreaking book. Unlike other histories of lynching that rely on conventional historical records, this study focuses on the objects associated with the lynching, including newspaper articles, fragments of the victims' clothing, photographs, and souvenirs such as sticks from the hanging tree. This material culture approach uncovers how people tried to integrate the meaning of the lynching into their everyday lives through objects. These seemingly ordinary items are repositories for the comprehension, interpretation, and commemoration of racial violence and white supremacy. Elijah Gaddis showcases an approach to objects as materials of history and memory, insisting that we live in a world suffused with the material traces of racial violence, past and present.

Author: Elijah Gaddis
ISBN-10: 1316514021
ISBN-13: 9781316514023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/17/2022
Pages: 212
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.21lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.75d