quiz 3 thrs 365

According to Delores Williams, what are some ways racial narcissism plays out? give one example of this.

Racial narcissism can play out through the valuation of religion, nationality, aesthetics, economics, and even politics. ex: Elizabethan England depicted fair skin and whiteness as signs of beauty; white and black aesthetics become the basis for the ideology of white racial narcissism--> Whiteness as true beauty, opposite as something undesirable

What name does Hagar give to God? What is the meaning/significance of this name?

She gives God the name "El Roi," which means "the God who sees me." This is interesting because she directly names and talks to God (which is typically not seem)

In Chapter 2, how does Delores Williams describe the role that black women had to play during slavery?

Williams says that black women had to be mothers/nurtures who... 1) served as breeders, laborers, and wet nurses 2) often had to protect, provide for family, and resist oppression

How does Alice Walker define womanism?

Womanism, in Alice Walker's definition, is more focused on communalism (i.e. the survival and wholeness of male and female) and the desire to simultaneously address racism and sexism.

In Chapter 2, how does Delores Williams say that James Baldwin and Richard Wright portray the role of religion in black women's lives?

a. Baldwin tended to depict black women as more dependent on religion in a negative way b. Wright suggested that Christianity specifically fails black mothers. He also raises the question of theodicy

In Chapter 3, Delores Williams argues that black American women most often experience social-role surrogacy. Name and explain the two forms of social-role surrogacy

a. Coerced surrogacy - black women forced to function in roles that would normally be filled by someone (field work, mammy, etc) b. Voluntary surrogacy - black women could refuse certain social roles, but often chose according to social pressures (still field work, mammy, etc)

1. What are the three stereotypical roles that have often been assigned to black women? (think back on the video we saw in class and portrayals of black women's lives in media)

a. The mammy - a stereotype of nurturing, caring, and laboring for others b. The jezebel - a stereotype of being overly sexual and sexualized c. The sapphire - a stereotype of having a negative attitude and stubborn behavior

What are some of the challenging experiences that Hagar's story has often represented? Include 3 here.

a. The plight of the slave - she does not have her freedom or liberation b. The plight of foreigners - she is isolated from her homeland and her people c. The plight of the sexually abused - she is forced to endure a pregnancy and does not have sexual agency

How does Delores Williams define racial narcissism?

a. Williams argues that racial narcissism is "the overvaluation of one's group color and the reinforcing that value by using power and authority to persecute others." --> Blackness gets categorized as something pathological, something inherently wrong

What are some of the ways that womanism differs from feminism? Name and briefly describe 2 ways

a. Womanism has a specific focus on the experiences of black women, whereas feminism has a more general emphasis on women's experiences at large. b. Womanism, in Alice Walker's definition, is more focused on communalism and intersectionality

describe what occurs after Hagar becomes pregnant

After Hagar becomes pregnant, Sarah treats her harshly, and eventually Hagar flees from her mistress into the wilderness, where God's messenger speaks to her and directs her to return.

describe what happens to Hagar after she gives birth? How does God respond to this? Include God's response to both Abraham and Hagar.

After Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, she continues to have conflict with Sarah. Sarah tells Abraham to send her away. God tells Abraham that Hagar and Ishmael will survive and God will make a nation out of Ishmael's lineage. God appears to Hagar in the wilderness and assures her that her son will survive and become a great nation.

who is Hagar? What does Sarah do to Hagar?

Hagar is Sarah's Egyptian slave woman. Sarah gives Hagar to her husband Abraham as a secondary wife so that she can bear a child for him.

what is the name of the son that Hagar bears for Abraham?

Ishmael

define theodicy

the explanation of why a perfectly good, almighty, and all-knowing God permits evil --> appears in Wright's reflection of the role of black women