This thesis examines the often overlooked and consistently maligned African/black female figure in 16th and 17th Century literature. Drawing from historical contexts and feminist literary criticism, this thesis accentuates a culturally nuanced and intersectional feminist examination of specific texts from the period in question and the extent to which they inform or draw from racist rhetoric. The texts examined will include William Dunbar’s Ane Blak Moir, Ben Jonson’s Masque of Blackness and Masque of Beauty, and Shakespeare’s Othello.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines the often overlooked and consistently maligned African/black female figure in 16th and 17th Century literature. Drawing from historical contexts and feminist literary criticism, this thesis accentuates a culturally nuanced and intersectional feminist examination of specific texts from the period in question and the extent to which they inform or draw from racist rhetoric. The texts examined will include William Dunbar’s Ane Blak Moir, Ben Jonson’s Masque of Blackness and Masque of Beauty, and Shakespeare’s Othello.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Reed, Tonika"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mildred Lewis","Joanna Levin","Brian Glaser"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-15T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-15T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:00Z","subjects":["early modern","black women","bodies","Moor","16th Century","17th Century","British Literature","Representation","English Language and Literature","Literature in English, British Isles"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/10","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mildred Lewis","Joanna Levin","Brian Glaser"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Reed, Tonika"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["early modern","black women","bodies","Moor","16th Century","17th Century","British Literature","Representation","English Language and Literature","Literature in English, British Isles"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/10"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the often overlooked and consistently maligned African/black female figure in 16th and 17th Century literature. Drawing from historical contexts and feminist literary criticism, this thesis accentuates a culturally nuanced and intersectional feminist examination of specific texts from the period in question and the extent to which they inform or draw from racist rhetoric. The texts examined will include William Dunbar’s Ane Blak Moir, Ben Jonson’s Masque of Blackness and Masque of Beauty, and Shakespeare’s Othello.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Reed, Tonika. Black Women’s Bodies as the Site of Malignity: Interrogating (Mis)representations of Black Women in 16th and 17th Century British Literature. 2019. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000089"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Black Women’s Bodies as the Site of Malignity: Interrogating (Mis)representations of Black Women in 16th and 17th Century British Literature"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mildred Lewis","Joanna Levin","Brian Glaser"],"dc:creator":["Reed, Tonika"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the often overlooked and consistently maligned African/black female figure in 16th and 17th Century literature. Drawing from historical contexts and feminist literary criticism, this thesis accentuates a culturally nuanced and intersectional feminist examination of specific texts from the period in question and the extent to which they inform or draw from racist rhetoric. The texts examined will include William Dunbar’s Ane Blak Moir, Ben Jonson’s Masque of Blackness and Masque of Beauty, and Shakespeare’s Othello.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/10"],"dc:source":["Reed, Tonika. Black Women’s Bodies as the Site of Malignity: Interrogating (Mis)representations of Black Women in 16th and 17th Century British Literature. 2019. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000089"],"dc:subject":["early modern","black women","bodies","Moor","16th Century","17th Century","British Literature","Representation","English Language and Literature","Literature in English, British Isles"],"dc:title":["Black Women’s Bodies as the Site of Malignity: Interrogating (Mis)representations of Black Women in 16th and 17th Century British Literature"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:00Z"}