Term of Award
Spring 2017
Degree Name
Master of Arts in English (M.A.)
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Literature and Philosophy
Committee Chair
David Dudley
Committee Member 1
Caren Town
Committee Member 2
Richard Flynn
Abstract
This project focuses on Nikki Giovanni’s history as a revolutionary female activist in The Black Arts Movement (BAM). The BAM was dedicated to advancing the livelihood of African-Americans through the arts. Nikki Giovanni recognized the tensions between being a revolutionary black woman and fitting society’s conventional standard of women. This paper highlights the life of an activist and poet engaged in a social revolution while trying to sustain a private life. Through the discussion of various poems in Black Feeling Black Talk/ Black Judgement (1970), this study explores the conflict between gender issues, race relations, and politics. As Giovanni positions herself as a revolutionary poet, she addresses the challenges black women faced to define their own voice under oppressive forces.
Recommended Citation
Mazeke, Kendra, "Counterrevolutionary Matters: Women's Issues in Nikki Giovanni's Black Feeling Black Talk/ Black Judgement" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1550.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1550
Research Data and Supplementary Material
Yes
