What we say, who we are

"In What We Say, Who We Are: Leopold Senghor, Zora Neale Hurston, and the philosophy of Language. Parker English explores the remarkable overlap between Leopold Senghors concept of "negritude" and Zora Neale Hurston's view of "Negro expression." Senghor provides a broad summary and Hurston provides many specific details concerning ways in which a person's sense of herself can emerge from how she talks - about anything. Gleaned from what is common to the views of Senghor and Hurston, English uses the term "performism" to designate a more general approach to speech, which he then explicates with some of the most prominent discussions of J.L. Austin's analysis of illocutionary speech acts. The explication also adopts the externalistic/internalistic distinction from the dramaturgical approach to social psychology and the presentational/representational distinction from theorists of professional acting. English ends his work by closely examining Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God in light of his discussion of "performism," drawing new and intriguing conclusions about the extent to which Hurston's main character exemplifies W E.B. Du Bois's concept of doubleconsciousness. What We Say, Who We Are is addressed to those interested in Africana studies, African American literature, and the philosophy of language."--Jacket.