{"product_id":"heroism-and-the-black-intellectual-jerry-gafio-watts-9780807844779","title":"Heroism and the Black Intellectual: Ralph Ellison, Politics, and Afro-American Intellectual Life","description":"Before and after writing \u003ci\u003eInvisible Man\u003c\/i\u003e, novelist and essayist Ralph Ellison fought to secure a place as a black intellectual in a white-dominated society. In this sophisticated analysis of Ellison's cultural politics, Jerry Watts examines the ways in which black artists and thinkers attempt to establish creative intellectual spaces for themselves. Using Ellison as a case study, Watts makes important observations about the role of black intellectuals in America today. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWatts argues that black intellectuals have had to navigate their way through a society that both denied them the resources, status, and encouragement available to their white peers and alienated them from the rest of their ethnic group. For Ellison to pursue meaningful intellectual activities in the face of this marginalization demanded creative heroism, a new social and artistic stance that challenges cultural stereotypes. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor example, Ellison first created an artistic space for himself by associating with Communist party literary circles, which recognized the value of his writing long before the rest of society was open to his work. In addition, to avoid prescriptive white intellectual norms, Ellison developed his own ideology, which Watts terms the 'blues aesthetic.' Watts's ambitious study reveals a side of Ellison rarely acknowledged, blending careful criticism of art with a wholesale engagement with society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jerry Gafio Watts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0807844772\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780807844779\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of North Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/28\/1994\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 170\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.59lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.27h x 5.78w x 0.47d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/1994 pg. 100","brand":"Jerry Gafio Watts","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46489225101567,"sku":"9780807844779","price":42.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_277cb770-afe8-4ae3-b48e-0aeebe5b4a41.jpg?v=1736952941","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/heroism-and-the-black-intellectual-jerry-gafio-watts-9780807844779","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}