Masculinity Under Construction : Literary Re-Presentations of Black Masculinity in the African Diaspora

Masculinity Under Construction analyzes Black male identity through the works of various authors from Africa, the Caribbean, and North America. The book discusses the works of canonical Black authors from the pan-African diaspora in order to identify similarities in the construction of male identity in global Black communities.

Masculinity Under Construction: Literary Re-Presentations of Black Masculinity in the African Diaspora analyzes Black male identity as constructed by Black male authors. In each chapter, Dr. Jefferson-James discusses a different "construction" or definition of masculine identity produced by men of African descent on the continent of Africa, in the Caribbean, and in North America. Combing through the works of James Baldwin, Chinua Achebe, Ralph Ellison, George Lamming, and other pan-African authors, Masculinity Under Construction argues for the importance of analyzing the historical context that contributed to the formation of Black male identity. Additionally, Dr. Jefferson-James draws a relationship between Black feminists and writers, such as Anna Julia Cooper and her contemporaries, and these works of literature viewed as primarily about Black masculinity.