Techno-Prosthetic Romantic FuturismThe Secret SegregationPerhaps Romanticism advances the eclipse of Africa. The cultural tax paid on the slave trade was the erasure of Egypt and its influence from public memory. [1] Let us beware lest in our justifiable attention to Romantic Orientalism we reenact the secret segregation of African culture from "our" European past. [2] Britain's obsession with the caucasian cultures occludes the possibility of an African heritage. Can something similar be said for certain kinds of criticism today? Can something similar be said of postmodern theory in general? Notes1. See Martin Bernal, Black Athena: the Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (London: Free Association, 1987). 2. Fear Jes Grew. See Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo (New York: Scribner, 1972). Navigation |