Much of the material unearthed by this book is ugly, states historiographer Patricia Morton who exposes profoundly dehumanizing constructions of reality embedded in American scholarship as it has attempted to render the history of the Afro-American woman. Focusing on the scholarly literature of fact rather than on fictional or popular portrayals, Disfigured Images explores the telling--and frequent mis-telling--of the story of black women during a century of American historiography beginning in the late nineteenth century and extending to the present. Morton finds that during this period, a large body of scholarly literature was generated that presented little fact and much fiction about black women's history. The book's ten chapters take long and lingering looks at the black woman's prefabricated past. Contemporary revisionist studies with their goals of discovering and articulating the real nature of the slave woman's experience and role are thoroughly examined in the conclusion. Disfigured Images complements current work by recognizing in its findings a long-needed refutation of a caricatured, mythical version of black women's history. Morton's introduction presents an overview of her subject emphasizing the mythical, ingrained nature of the black woman's image in historiography as a natural and permanent slave. The succeeding chapters use historical and social science works as primary sources to explore such issues as the foundations of sexism-racism, the writing of W.E.B. DuBois, twentieth century notions of black women, current black and women's studies, new and old images of motherhood, and more. The conclusion investigates how and why recent American historiographical scholarship has banished the old myths by presenting a more accurate history of black women. This keenly perceptive and original study should find an influential place in both women's studies and black studies programs as well as in American history, American literature, and sociology departments. With its unusually complete panorama of the period covered it would be a unique and valuable addition to courses such as slavery, the American South, women in (North) American history, Afro-American history, race and sex in American literature and discourse, and the sociology of race.

A case study of the meaning and purpose of pilgrimage, based on the image of the 'scarred Virgin', Our Lady of Czestochowa. The tradition of pilgrimage to an image is so well-established as to be taken for granted. Throughout Christian history large numbers of people have made journeys to images associated with miracles, yet the phenomenon has never been a subject of detailed scholarly scrutiny. This book explores the issue through a case study of the origins of pilgrimage to one such image, Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland. The shrine remains one of the most prominent pilgrimage destinations in the Catholic world: the striking focal panel painting shows the Virgin Mary with an apparently scarred face, and the legend of the picture's origin claims that it was painted by St Luke and desecrated by iconoclasts. The author assesses the significance of the stories attached to the shrine, and goes beyond them to consider the practices and responses of the pilgrims. Drawing on the earliest surviving miracle collections, he also explores the interaction between the pilgrims and the image of the 'scarred' Virgin. ROBERT MANIURA is Lecturer in the History of Renaissance Art, Birkbeck College, University of London.

Intended for health care professionals working with patients who have suffered a threat to body image, whether from trauma, injury, disease, or the developmental process, Body Image and Disfigurement Care: *offers practical advice about care *critically appraises the existing knowledge-base *describes the different theoretical approaches to body image disturbance *puts forward a new model of what happens to people with disturbed body image. While written in an accessible style, this is not a superficial text; it presents practical skills which can be used in clinical settings and these skills are based on appropriate research evidence, Interactive exercises enable the student to consolidate their learning and improve their understanding of the patient's experience of a threat to body image. Body Image and Disfigurement Care provides a sound source of help and advice about an issue of growing importance in modern health.

A CBC BOOKS BEST NONFICTION OF 2020 AN ENTROPY MAGAZINE BEST NONFICTION 2020/21 A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BOOK OF THE DAY (07/23/2022) Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference. "Historically we have associated the disabled body image and disabled life with an unhappy ending” – Sue Carter, Toronto Star "Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle." – Sara Shreve, Library Journal "She [Leduc] argues that template is how society continues to treat the disabled: rather than making the world accessible for everyone, the disabled are often asked to adapt to inaccessible environments." – Ryan Porter, Quill & Quire "Read this smart, tenacious book." – The Washington Post "A brilliant young critic named Amanda Leduc explores this pernicious power of language in her new book, Disfigured … Leduc follows the bread crumbs back into her original experience with fairy tales – and then explores their residual effects … Read this smart, tenacious book." – The Washington Post "Leduc investigates the intersection between disability and her beloved fairy tales, questioning the constructs of these stories and where her place is, as a disabled woman, among those narratives." – The Globe and Mail "It gave me goosebumps as I read, to see so many of my unexpressed, half-formed thoughts in print. My highlighter got a good workout." – BookRiot "Disfigured is not just an eye-opener when it comes to the Disney princess crew and the Marvel universe – this thin volume provides the tools to change how readers engage with other kinds of popular media, from horror films to fashion magazines to outdated sitcom jokes." – Quill & Quire “It’s an essential read for anyone who loves fairy tales.” – Buzzfeed Books "Leduc makes one thing clear and beautifully so – fairy tales are fundamentally fantastic, but that doesn’t mean that they are beyond reproach in their depiction of real issues and identities." – Shrapnel Magazine "As Leduc takes us through these fairy tales and the space they occupy in the narratives that we construct, she slowly unfolds a call-to-action: the claiming of space for disability in storytelling." – The Globe and Mail "A provocative beginning to a thoughtful and wide-ranging book, one which explores some of the most primal stories readers have encountered and prompts them to ponder the subtext situated there all along." – LitHub "a poignant and informative account of how the stories we tell shape our collective understanding of one another.” – BookMarks "What happens when we allow disabled writers to tell stories of disability within fairytales and in magical and supernatural settings? It is a reimagining of the fairytale canon we need. Leduc dares to dream of a world that most stories envision is unattainable." – Bitch Media

Focusing on the scholarly "literature of fact", this study explores the telling - and frequent mis-telling - of the story of black women during a century of American historiography, from the late 19th century to the present day, looking at the black woman's "prefabricated past".

From the closure of churches during the pandemic, and therefore in the absence of a community of worship, arises the pressing theological question: what does it mean to belong 'from a distance'? Although many have reacted to this question by providing virtual alternatives for activities and by reaffirming solidarity in times of hardship, a theological response requires articulating the effects of quarantine and distancing on what it means to belong in the Church. Fundamentally, what does it mean to belong, and is it possible to belong anew after the pandemic? This book addresses these questions by carefully drawing from the thought of Augustine of Hippo, whose life and thought fittingly echoes the course of our times.

With bracing clarity, James Elkins explores why images are taken to be more intricate and hard to describe in the twentieth century than they had been in any previous century. Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles? uses three models to understand the kinds of complex meaning that pictures are thought to possess: the affinity between the meanings of paintings and jigsaw-puzzles; the contemporary interest in ambiguity and 'levels of meaning'; and the penchant many have to interpret pictures by finding images hidden within them. Elkins explores a wide variety of examples, from the figures hidden in Renaissance paintings to Salvador Dali's paranoiac meditations on Millet's Angelus, from Persian miniature paintings to jigsaw-puzzles. He also examines some of the most vexed works in history, including Watteau's "meaningless" paintings, Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, and Leonardo's Last Supper.