Scripts of Blackness: Early Modern Performance Culture and the Making of Race by Noémie Ndiaye (review).

The article focuses on Noémie Ndiaye's book, *Scripts of Blackness: Early Modern Performance Culture and the Making of Race*, which examines the construction of racial identities through performance in early modern theater across Spanish, French, and English contexts. Ndiaye analyzes how white actor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies Vol. 24; no. 1/2; pp. 181 - 184
Main Author: Vipperman-Cohen, Mel
Format: Article
Published: University of Pennsylvania Press Winter/Spring2024
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:The article focuses on Noémie Ndiaye's book, *Scripts of Blackness: Early Modern Performance Culture and the Making of Race*, which examines the construction of racial identities through performance in early modern theater across Spanish, French, and English contexts. Ndiaye analyzes how white actors' impersonations of Afro-diasporic individuals contributed to the creation of racial scripts that perpetuated stereotypes of blackness associated with animalism and subservience. The book is organized around three main themes: cosmetic blackness, acoustic blackness, and kinetic blackness, each revealing the complexities of racial representation and the colonial implications of these performances. Ndiaye's work challenges the traditional focus on Anglophone literature, offering a broader understanding of race-making practices in early modern performance culture.