White Histories of Antiblack Violence: an Investigation between Black Studies and Critical Theory
Abstract
The main goal of this thesis is to evaluate both how antiblack violence functions and the way in which white people have, historically, perpetuated this violence. Although this thesis consults various areas within Black Studies, its main theoretical foundation is Afropessimism. The first chapter is mainly concerned with white ignorance; with an analysis of how various prominent white critical theorists have often been antiblack while attempting to theorize antiblackness. These theorists include Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, and Lee Edelman. The second chapter investigates the violent history of the concept of Black animality and how this idea is a present throughline in much of Frantz Fanon’s work. Finally, the last chapter analyzes Afropessimism, its understanding of the world, and how its authors use auto-theory to examine antiblack violence. This chapter breaks down the work of Frank B. Wilderson III, as well as that of historian Saidiya Hartman, demonstrating how their work thoughtfully engages with both memoir and critical theory.