'Masculinity, Physicality and Disability: Shifting Experiences and Ideologies within the Antebellum South, 1800-1861'

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

My doctoral research will explore how racialised constructions of masculinity, disability and physicalityshaped the different forms of labour, treatment, community positions and resistance of enslaved men inthe Antebellum U.S. South. This project hinges on the assertion that Antebellum pro-slavery andabolitionist discourse, such as that discussed by men like Frederick Douglass and Henry HighlandGarnett, intrinsically linked black masculinity with physical ability - whether that was the strength tolabour, resist or protect / provide. The impact of this disharmony between slaveowner and enslavedperceptions of what actions / characteristics made a man and the supposed inability of disabled enslavedmen to fulfil such expectations underpins this study. I seek to understand whether disabled menperformed actions separate from physicality to assert an identity / position and whether disability shapedthe institution of slavery. Were these alternative methods challenged or perceived as 'unmanly' by othersor by themselves? My study shall focus upon men who were congenitally disabled, as well as those whobecame physically disabled, 'weak' or 'crippled' later in life, whether through injury, illness, or age. Thiswork significantly develops wider themes within the field of slavery studies, such as community andmaster/enslaved relations. This analysis also speaks to wider intersectional themes within disabilitystudies by emphasising the role that perception and community judgement plays in shaping narratives ofinclusion/exclusion.