Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 - Violence and Toni Morrison's Racist House -- 2 - Hiding the Invisible Hurt of Race -- 3 - The Unspeakable Language of Race and Fantasy in the Stories of Jhumpa Lahiri -- 4 - Performing Intimacy -- Conclusion - The Demands of Precious -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.

Stephanie Li argues that American politicians and writers are using a new kind of language to speak about race. Challenging the notion that we have moved into a "post-racial" era, she suggests that we are in an uneasy moment where American public discourse demands that race be seen, but not heard. Analyzing contemporary political speech with nuanced readings of works by such authors as Toni Morrison, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Colson Whitehead, Li investigates how Americans of color have negotiated these tensions, inventing new ways to signal racial affiliations without violating taboos against open discussions of race.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.