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

我的博士研究将探讨男性气质、残疾和身体的种族化结构如何塑造南北战争前美国南方被奴役男子的不同形式的劳动、待遇、社区地位和抵抗。这个项目依赖于这样一种断言，即内战前支持奴隶制和废奴主义的话语，比如弗雷德里克·道格拉斯和亨利·海兰德·加内特等人所讨论的话语，将黑人男子气概与身体能力内在地联系在一起——无论是劳动、抵抗还是保护/提供的力量。奴隶主和奴隶对什么行为/特征造就一个人的看法之间的不和谐，以及残疾奴隶无法实现这种期望的假设，对这项研究的影响是基础。我试图理解残疾男性是否通过与身体分离的行为来维护自己的身份/地位，以及残疾是否塑造了奴隶制制度。这些替代方法是否受到他人或自己的挑战或被视为“没有男子气概”？我的研究将集中在那些先天残疾的人，以及那些在以后的生活中由于受伤、疾病或年龄而变得身体残疾、“虚弱”或“残废”的人。这项工作在奴隶制研究领域中显著地发展了更广泛的主题，如社区和主人/奴隶关系。通过强调感知和社区判断在形成结论/排斥叙事中所起的作用，该分析也谈到了残疾研究中更广泛的交叉主题。

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.