Eric Lott
Encyclopedia
Eric Lott is an American
Professor of English and social historian
.
Lott received his Ph. D. in 1991 from Columbia University. He has been a faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Virginia
since 1990.
Lott's book about the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of blackface
minstrelsy
, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1993), received the 1994 Avery O. Craven Award
from the Organization of American Historians
and the first annual Modern Language Association's
"Best First Book" prize, and the 1994 Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights.
Lott's writings have appeared in numerous publications, such as Village Voice, The Nation
, Transition
, and American Quarterly
.
Bob Dylan
is widely reported to have taken the title of his album Love and Theft from that of Lott's book; Lott, in turn, considered his own title "a riff
on" Leslie Fiedler
's Love and Death in the American Novel.
Love and Theft extensively documents the racism
and cultural appropriation
inherent in blackface performance; Lott also argues that it demonstrates a current of homosexual desire for Black men's bodies; he also argues that "mixed in with vicious parodies and lopsided appropriation, minstrelsy involved a real love of African American
culture."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Professor of English and social historian
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
.
Lott received his Ph. D. in 1991 from Columbia University. He has been a faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
since 1990.
Lott's book about the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
minstrelsy
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1993), received the 1994 Avery O. Craven Award
Avery O. Craven Award
The Avery O. Craven Award, first given in 1985, is awarded annually by the Organization of American Historians for the most original history book on the coming of the American Civil War, the Civil War years , or the Era of Reconstruction , with the exception of works of purely military history....
from the Organization of American Historians
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...
and the first annual Modern Language Association's
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
"Best First Book" prize, and the 1994 Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights.
Lott's writings have appeared in numerous publications, such as Village Voice, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, Transition
Transition Magazine
Transition Magazine , founded by Rajat Neogy , a Ugandan of Indian ancestry, was published from 1961 to 1976 on the African continent and was revived in 1991 in the United States. Born in Africa and bred in the Diaspora, Transition is a unique forum for the freshest, most compelling, most curious...
, and American Quarterly
American Quarterly
American Quarterly is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Studies Association. The journal covers topics of both domestic and international concern in the United States and is considered a leading resource in the field of American studies. The current editor-in-chief is...
.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
is widely reported to have taken the title of his album Love and Theft from that of Lott's book; Lott, in turn, considered his own title "a riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
on" Leslie Fiedler
Leslie Fiedler
Leslie Aaron Fiedler was a Jewish-American literary critic, known for his interest in mythography and his championing of genre fiction. His work also involves application of psychological theories to American literature. He was in practical terms one of the early postmodernist critics working...
's Love and Death in the American Novel.
Love and Theft extensively documents the racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
inherent in blackface performance; Lott also argues that it demonstrates a current of homosexual desire for Black men's bodies; he also argues that "mixed in with vicious parodies and lopsided appropriation, minstrelsy involved a real love of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
culture."
Books
- The Disappearing Liberal Intellectual: Or, How the Left Became the Center (2006)
- Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1993)
- The Cambridge Handbook of American Literature (1986) (co-author)
External links
- Eric Lott
- "The Wages of Liberalism: An Interview with Eric Lott"
- Futures Of American StudiesFutures Of American StudiesThe Futures of American Studies is weeklong academic summer institute on the field of American Studies held at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. The Institute was started in 1995 and 2009 marks the Institute's fourteenth year...
Institute at Dartmouth College.