The Angela Y. Davis Reader - Paperback

by Joy James (Editor)

For three decades, Angela Y. Davis has written on liberation theory and democratic praxis. Challenging the foundations of mainstream discourse, her analyses of culture, gender, capital, and race have profoundly influenced democratic theory, antiracist feminism, critical studies and political struggles.

Even for readers who primarily know her as a revolutionary of the late 1960s and early 1970s (or as a political icon for militant activism) she has greatly expanded the scope and range of social philosophy and political theory. Expanding critical theory, contemporary progressive theorists - engaged in justice struggles - will find their thought influenced by the liberation praxis of Angela Y. Davis.

The Angela Y. Davis Reader presents eighteen essays from her writings and interviews which have appeared in If They Come in the Morning, Women, Race, and Class, Women, Culture, and Politics, and Black Women and the Blues as well as articles published in women's, ethnic/black studies and communist journals, and cultural studies anthologies. In four parts - "Prisons, Repression, and Resistance", "Marxism, Anti-Racism, and Feminism", "Aesthetics and Culture", and recent interviews - Davis examines revolutionary politics and intellectualism.

Davis's discourse chronicles progressive political movements and social philosophy. It is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary political philosophy, critical race theory, social theory, ethnic studies, American studies, African American studies, cultural theory, feminist philosophy, gender studies.

Back Jacket

For three decades, Angela Y. Davis has written on feminism, anti-racism, political philosophy, and liberation theory. Her analyses of culture, gender, capital, and race have profoundly influenced political and social thought, and contemporary struggles.

This volume presents interviews, essays, and excerpts from Davis's most important works including her memoir. In four parts - Prisons, Repression, and Resistance; Marxism, Anti-Racism, and Feminism; Aesthetics and Culture; and Interviews - Davis examines progressive politics and intellectualism. The extensive introduction by Joy James both provides biographical background and contextualizes the intellectual development of Davis as one of the leading thinkers of our time.

The Angela Y. Davis Reader is essential reading for anyone concerned about social justice, Marxism, and critical race and feminist theory.

Author Biography

Joy James teaches Political Theory in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is the author of several noted books and publications on Feminism, Critical Race Theory, and Democratic Politics, including Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals (1997).