Counterintuitively, at least to my way of thinking, I began the writing of my dissertation this past semester with the introduction. I’m including a link here. I’m trying to grapple here with public representations of pleasure and terror in early 20th century North Carolina. Though my topic is nominally on public cultures of celebration, white pleasure and black terror are inextricably linked historically and the first step in portraying the people who refused that connection is to understand the worlds in which they were living. There are many revisions and additions to follow, but feel free to read some if you’d like. Do forgive the awkwardly academic title and any lingering notes or admonitions to self that may exist in the margins!
