The Erotics of History

The Erotics of History challenges long-standing notions of sexuality as stable and context-free—as something that individuals discover about themselves. Rather, Donald L. Donham argues that historical circumstance, local social pressure, and the cultural construction of much beyond sex condition the...

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Main Author: Donham, Donald
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: University of California Press 2021
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Online Access:OCN: 1028980512
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author Donham, Donald
author_browse Donham, Donald
author_facet Donham, Donald
author_sort Donham, Donald
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description The Erotics of History challenges long-standing notions of sexuality as stable and context-free—as something that individuals discover about themselves. Rather, Donald L. Donham argues that historical circumstance, local social pressure, and the cultural construction of much beyond sex condition the erotic. Donham makes this argument in relation to the centuries-old conversation on the fetish, applied to a highly unusual neighborhood in Atlantic Africa. There, local men, soon to be married to local women, are involved in long-term sexual relationships with European men. On the African side, these couplings are motivated by the pleasures of cosmopolitan connection and foreign commodities. On the other side, Europeans tend to fetishize Africans’ race, while a few search to become slaves in master/ slave relationships. At its most wide ranging, The Erotics of History attempts to show that it is history, both personal and collective, in reversals and reenactments, that finally produces sexual excitement.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-297762025-07-21T15:57:40Z The Erotics of History Donham, Donald Social Science Anthropology General thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology The Erotics of History challenges long-standing notions of sexuality as stable and context-free—as something that individuals discover about themselves. Rather, Donald L. Donham argues that historical circumstance, local social pressure, and the cultural construction of much beyond sex condition the erotic. Donham makes this argument in relation to the centuries-old conversation on the fetish, applied to a highly unusual neighborhood in Atlantic Africa. There, local men, soon to be married to local women, are involved in long-term sexual relationships with European men. On the African side, these couplings are motivated by the pleasures of cosmopolitan connection and foreign commodities. On the other side, Europeans tend to fetishize Africans’ race, while a few search to become slaves in master/ slave relationships. At its most wide ranging, The Erotics of History attempts to show that it is history, both personal and collective, in reversals and reenactments, that finally produces sexual excitement. 2021-02-10T13:35:32Z 2021-02-10T13:35:32Z 2020-12-15T13:54:43Z 2018 book OCN: 1028980512 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/43745 9780520296312 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/29776 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg n/a n/a n/a n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/43745/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/43745/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/43745/1/external_content.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/43745/1/external_content.pdf University of California Press University of California Press 10.1525/luminos.45 10.1525/luminos.45 19856893-4bf2-4e3e-9137-c7692d64e4c1 Knowledge Unlatched 9780520296312 Knowledge Unlatched (KU) University of California Press open access
spellingShingle Social Science
Anthropology
General
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
Donham, Donald
The Erotics of History
title The Erotics of History
title_full The Erotics of History
title_fullStr The Erotics of History
title_full_unstemmed The Erotics of History
title_short The Erotics of History
title_sort erotics of history
topic Social Science
Anthropology
General
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
topic_facet Social Science
Anthropology
General
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology
url OCN: 1028980512
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