Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction 1
"The emancipated century": Remapping History, Reclaiming Memory in August Wilson's Dramatic Landscapes of the 20th Century Joyce Hope Scott 15
"A big bend there, a tree by the shore": Situated Identity in The Janitor Jacqueline Zeff 39
Two Trains Running: Bridging Diana Taylor's "rift" and Narrating Manning Marable's "living history" Sarah Saddler Paul Bryant-Jackson 49
World War II History/history: Essential Contexts in Seven Guitars Ellen Bonds 60
The Use of Stereotype and Archetype in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Michael Downing 76
Gem of the Oceans Fugitive Movements Isaiah Matthew Wooden 88
Reclaiming the Mother: Women, Documents and the Condition of the Mother in Gem of the Ocean and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Jesslyn Collins-Frohlich 101
A Century Lacking Progress: The Fractured Community in Gem of the Ocean and King Medley II Christopher B. Bell 117
"He gonna give me my ham": The Use of Food as a Symbol for Social Justice Psyche Williams-Forson 128
Resurrecting "phantom limb[s] of the dismembered slave and god": Unveiling the Africanisms in Gem of the Ocean Artisia Green 142
Epiphany and the "drama of souls" Owen Seda 164
Conjuring Africa in August Wilson's Plays Connie Rapoo 175
Re-Evaluating the Legacy of the Ten-Play Cycle Susan C.W. Abbotson 187
About the Contributors 203
Index 205
