Confederate Exceptionalism : Civil War Myth and Memory in the Twenty-First Century

Nicole Maurantonio

ISBN 10: 0700634223 / ISBN 13: 9780700634224

Published by University Press Of Kansas Okt 2022, 2022

About this Item

Neuware.

Seller Inventory # 9780700634224

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Confederate Exceptionalism : Civil War Myth and Memory in the Twenty-First Century
• Publisher: University Press Of Kansas Okt 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0700634223
• ISBN 13: 9780700634224
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 228W x 152H x 13D millimeters 228 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 13 millimeters depth
• Weight: 363 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Along with Confederate flags, the men and women who recently gathered before the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts carried signs proclaiming “Heritage Not Hate.” Theirs, they said, was an “open and visible protest against those who attacked us, ours flags, our ancestors, or our Heritage.” How, Nicole Maurantonio wondered, did “not hate” square with a “heritage” grounded in slavery? How do so-called neo-Confederates distance themselves from the actions and beliefs of white supremacists while clinging to the very symbols and narratives that tether the Confederacy to the history of racism and oppression in America? The answer, Maurantonio discovers, is bound up in the myth of Confederate exceptionalism—a myth whose components, proponents, and meaning this timely and provocative book explores

The narrative of Confederate exceptionalism, in this analysis, updates two uniquely American mythologies—the Lost Cause and American exceptionalism—blending their elements with discourses of racial neoliberalism to create a seeming separation between the Confederacy and racist systems. Incorporating several methods and drawing from a range of sources—including ethnographic observations, interviews, and archival documents—Maurantonio examines the various people, objects, and rituals that contribute to this cultural balancing act. Her investigation takes in “official” modes of remembering the Confederacy, such as the monuments and building names that drive the discussion today, but it also pays attention to the more mundane and often subtle ways in which the Confederacy is recalled. Linking the different modes of commemoration, her work bridges the distance that believers in Confederate exceptionalism maintain; while situated in history from the Civil War through the civil rights era, the book brings much-needed clarity to the constitution, persistence, and significance of this divisive myth in the context of our time.

About the Author

Nicole Maurantonio is associate professor of rhetoric and communication studies and American studies at the University of Richmond. She is the coeditor, with David W. Park, of Communicating Memory & History.