EBOOK
Canada and the Blackface Atlantic
Performing Slavery, Conflict, And Freedom, 1812-1897
Cheryl Thompson(0)
About
Canada and the Blackface Atlantic traces the origins of theatre, dance, and concert singing in Canada and their connection to British and American song and dance traditions.
When theatrical acts first appeared in the late eighteenth century, chattel slavery had transformed into mass entertainment on minstrel stages across the Atlantic world. As railroads and theatres were built, local blackface troupes emerged alongside touring British and American acts. By the 1850s, blackface theatre could be found in remote Western outposts to stages in Central and Maritime Canada. This is one of the first books to connect the rise of Canadian blackface minstrelsy with the emergence of Black singers, and choral groups. It describes how Black performers who assumed minstrelsy's mask remapped plantation slavery on Canadian stages.
It begins with the conflicts that shaped North America – the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Next, it connects these origins with eighteenth-century British immigration, which brought folk dances and masking traditions to North America. From there, it unmasks when and how "Jim Crow" became an Atlantic world sensation, which set the stage for blackface to expand. Finally, it considers how Black acts reimagined the parameters of their own freedom. Blackface minstrelsy as Canada's first popular entertainment
• first of a 3-volume set on Blackface in Canada
• Thompson has had significant presence in the media regarding blackface in Canada, especially after the appearance of Trudeau's blackface photos.
• Thompson has been building her brand around this subject, and there is an audience waiting for this book and the following volumes
• Focus on Canada: By examining the blackface minstrel troupes that crossed the Atlantic world, traveling to and from America and Britain to Canada, the book demonstrates the impact of the first popular culture export – blackface – on Canada's cultural development.
• Thompson's article The Complicated History of Canadian Blackface (Spacing 2018) was one of the most read posts on their site
• tailor-made for readers with intersectional interests rooted in history, culture politics (race, nation, identity, culture
• main focus is academic but focus on popular culture will broaden the readership
When theatrical acts first appeared in the late eighteenth century, chattel slavery had transformed into mass entertainment on minstrel stages across the Atlantic world. As railroads and theatres were built, local blackface troupes emerged alongside touring British and American acts. By the 1850s, blackface theatre could be found in remote Western outposts to stages in Central and Maritime Canada. This is one of the first books to connect the rise of Canadian blackface minstrelsy with the emergence of Black singers, and choral groups. It describes how Black performers who assumed minstrelsy's mask remapped plantation slavery on Canadian stages.
It begins with the conflicts that shaped North America – the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Next, it connects these origins with eighteenth-century British immigration, which brought folk dances and masking traditions to North America. From there, it unmasks when and how "Jim Crow" became an Atlantic world sensation, which set the stage for blackface to expand. Finally, it considers how Black acts reimagined the parameters of their own freedom. Blackface minstrelsy as Canada's first popular entertainment
• first of a 3-volume set on Blackface in Canada
• Thompson has had significant presence in the media regarding blackface in Canada, especially after the appearance of Trudeau's blackface photos.
• Thompson has been building her brand around this subject, and there is an audience waiting for this book and the following volumes
• Focus on Canada: By examining the blackface minstrel troupes that crossed the Atlantic world, traveling to and from America and Britain to Canada, the book demonstrates the impact of the first popular culture export – blackface – on Canada's cultural development.
• Thompson's article The Complicated History of Canadian Blackface (Spacing 2018) was one of the most read posts on their site
• tailor-made for readers with intersectional interests rooted in history, culture politics (race, nation, identity, culture
• main focus is academic but focus on popular culture will broaden the readership