Date of Award
9-6-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Hille Haker
Abstract
This project creates a womanist narrative ethics of survival framework using literary analysis, sociological and theological comparisons, and reflections on moral dilemmas in fiction and history. Steeped in the African American woman’s experiential perspective, this framework provides an alternative viewpoint through which to examine and analyze ethical issues arising in the context of marginalized bodies. Integrating the Christian faith, the history of chattel slavery in the United States, and the expanding field of African American literature and literary theory, this work posits that fiction provides a rich platform to work through thick moral dilemmas, affording a concrete ethical framework to match the concrete ethical issues faced in everyday life. Combining womanist theological ethics, narrative identity, and African American fiction, a womanist narrative ethics of survival seeks to explain and supplement the unique quandary in which marginalized bodies make decisions and make meaning.
Recommended Citation
Reese, LaShaunda Janeice, "A Womanist Narrative Ethics of Survival: an Exploration in African American Meaning Making" (2024). Dissertations. 4103.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/4103
