Plessy v. Ferguson: A Brief History with Documents - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312137435 ISBN 13: 9780312137434

Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996

Synopsis

Using the full text of the Court's opinion, along with a selection of responses to the actual ruling, Plessy v. Ferguson, the book, provides context to help you re-create the complicated debates and conditions in which the decision occured.

About this title

About the Author:

Brook Thomas is chair of the English and Comparative Literature Department at the University of California, Irvine. After a book on James Joyce's Ulysses (1982), he turned his attention to the intersections of law, literature, and cultural history in the United States. He is author of Cross-Examinations of Law and Literature: Cooper, Hawthorne, Stowe, and Melville (1987): The New Historicism and Other Old-Fashioned Topics (1991); and American Literary Realism and the Failed Promise of Contract (1997). He has lectured on Plessy v. Ferguson to more than five thousand undergraduates over the course of several years.

Review:

"This is an important case for undergraduate study, in large measure because it illuminates the modern debate over affirmative action. Brook Thomas recognizes this connection and helps the reader understand how the rhetoric of race used in Plessy remains influential. The narrative and accompanying historical documents provide a fresh and vivid look at one of the Supreme Court's most significant and controversial decisions."

About this edition

• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0312137435
• ISBN 13: 9780312137434
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Brook Thomas