“A sweeping yet rigorous analysis of Dixon and his
work. The collection approaches the southern intellectual
through multiple methodologies—from literary theory
and film studies to social history and religious studies.
We get an exhaustive yet diverse perspective on Dixon’s
influence and legacy.”—Journal of American
History
Thomas Dixon Jr. (1864–1946), best remembered today
as the author of the racist novels that served as the basis
for D. W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 classic film
The Birth of a Nation, also enjoyed great renown
in his lifetime as a minister, lecturer, lawyer, and actor.
Although this native southerner’s blatantly racist,
chauvinistic, and white supremacist views are abhorrent today,
his contemporary audiences responded enthusiastically to Dixon.
In Thomas Dixon Jr. and the Birth of Modern America,
distinguished scholars of religion, film, literature, music,
history, and gender studies offer a provocative examination
of Dixon’s ideas, personal life, and career and in the
process illuminate the evolution of white racism in the early
twentieth century and its legacy down to the present. The
contributors analyze Dixon’s sermons, books, plays,
and films seeking to understand the appeal of his message
within the white culture of the Progressive era. They also
explore the critical responses of African Americans contemporary
with Dixon. By delving into the context and complexity of
Dixon’s life, the contributors also raise fascinating
questions about the power of popular culture in forming Americans’
views in any age.
"An important and valuable addition to the literature
on turn-of-the-century white supremacy.” —Journal
of Southern History
Michele K. Gillespie is the author of Free
Labor in an Unfree World: White Artisans in Slaveholding Georgia,
1789–1860 and a coeditor of several books, including Neither
Lady nor Slave: Working Women of the Old South and The
Devil's Lane: Sex and Race in the Early South. She is
Kahle Associate Professor of History at Wake Forest University.
Randal L. Hall is the author of William
Louis Poteat: A Leader of the Progressive-Era South and
coeditor of The Southern Albatross: Race and Ethnicity
in the American South. He is associate editor of the Journal
of Southern History at Rice University. |
