Images of the 'other': the visual representation of African people as an indicator of socio-cultural values in nineteenth century England

[摘要] This research examines the way in which the ideology of difference is reflected in visual images of blackpeople in Britain in the nineteenth century, Concepts of tlie 'other' ar~iocated within specificcontemporary socie-celnnal and political contexts. Historically, this was an important period in whichtheories of human difference proliferated, and which in turn informed diverse and often contradictorysocial practices. The white English behavioUl' towards, and perspective of, black people in England had adirect bearing not only on life in Britain, but in the colonies as well. The images produced in Englandwere critical to the colonial enterprise. They infomlt:al Briti~h attitudes to Africa and the Empire moregenerally.Implicit in the analysis of the images is an evaluation of the emergflllce of hegemonic ideas, and themanipulation of power by the ruling class. The beliefs and trends of a society are reflected in its visualarts. The methodology employed aims to bring together analyses of the production of visualrepresentations within a broad chronological and thematic framework, so as to assess the socialproduction of meaning in the images. To do this it is necessary to verify the presence of black peopleas residents in England. Chapter one addresses this issue as well as determines to what extent thenotion of blackness was integral to an early formation of a black !~~creotype. Some of the implicationsof British participation in the slave trade are also censldered, Images of slaves which are the mainfocus of chapter two, demonstrate seclo-eultural attitudes of early nlneteanth-centurv English people.Chapter three examines the rise of science and systematic knowlaJge which fed to both technical andpopular theorising about racial difference. The congruence between scientific and popular understandingsled to the emergence of notions of 'types' and hierarchies of people, which were to dominate ideas andattitudes for decades. Concurrent with the rise of science was the growth of a popular image of astereotyped blar.k 'other', Chapter four evaluates the. processes through which these images weredisseminated in a fast growing popular culture. The inequalities ()f power relations within English society,as manifest in the images, are analyzed. Chapter five considers the ways in which the white maleproducers of images perceived black women. The contradictions and ambiguities of the visual systems inthis chapter point to the complexities of cultural practice, and of artists and producers' particular viewson blackness and femaleness. The conclusion summarises the lIIIay in which the coneept of an 'other'has been used in this dissertation.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand