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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Writing from the Center or the Margins? Olaudah Equiano's Writing Life Reassessed
Author:Earley, Samantha ManchesterISNI
Year:2003
Periodical:African Studies Review
Volume:46
Issue:3
Period:December
Pages:1-16
Language:English
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Nigeria
Subjects:Christianity
slavery
autobiographies (form)
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Religion and Witchcraft
About person:Olaudah Equiano (ca1745-ca1797)ISNI
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1515039
Abstract:This article is a literary analysis of the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (Nigeria). It was a bestseller when it was published in 1789, and in the past few years it has seen a resurgence in popularity. To date, there have been very few studies of Equiano's religious conversion and his use of religious discourse. This article discusses Equiano's use of conventions of Christian spiritual autobiography. In particular, it examines Equiano's use of multiple discursive and rhetorical strategies in order to move the self of his slave narrator from 'marginal' to 'central' status in the international debate over slavery. It focuses on Equiano's understanding of morality as a multicultural framework and his application of Christian rhetoric in explaining it. The main argument is that his search for religious understanding and his experiential knowledge allowed him to move between cultural 'centres' and cultural 'margins' while speaking with an authoritative voice against slavery. Bibliogr., notes, sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]
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