ABSTRACT

Whether they demonstrated slaves’ awareness of the politics of their day or recorded aspects of their African past or documented their efforts to preserve family ties, runaway slave advertisements are an invaluable staple of African American Studies. For almost a century, they have revealed complex stories, rich vignettes that exposed varied aspects of black life before emancipation. But perhaps the most nuanced parts of runaway slave advertisements are the multifaceted nature of slave resistance and agency that notices communicated without words. Between the lines of their composition, masters relied on the public's imagination and common sense. Without uttering a single word, slaves made their intentions known; they inadvertently co-authored runaway advertisements. Indeed, absent in current scholarship concerning slavery and resistance is the story of how enslaved African Americans used silence to achieved voice, agency, and text.

摘要

无论是展现奴隶对当下政治的意识还是记录非洲过去的某些方面，或是记录他们为维护家庭纽带所做的努力，失控的奴隶广告都是非裔美国人研究的重要组成部分。在将近一个世纪的时间里，他们揭示了复杂的故事，丰富的小插曲在解放前揭露了黑人生活的各个方面。但是，失控的奴隶广告最微妙的部分可能是奴隶抵抗和代理的多面性，它注意到人们在没有言语的情况下进行交流。在作品的线条之间，大师们依靠公众的想象力和常识。奴隶们一言不发，便表达了自己的意图。他们无意间合着失控的广告。的确，有关奴隶制和抵抗的最新学术研究缺乏一个故事，讲述了被奴役的非洲裔美国人如何利用沉默来实现声音，代理和文字。