No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This
The aims of the paper are twofold. Firstly, it analyses Benjamin Markovits’ 2015 novel You Don’t Have to Live Like This as an example of the nascent genre of the “Obama-era novel.” Set in Detroit during Obama’s supposedly post-racial presidency, Markovits’ work offers a critical assessment of its l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Polish Association for the Study of English
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Polish Journal of English Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://pjes.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PJES_7-1_4_Ewa_Kowal.pdf |
| _version_ | 1817984462458191872 |
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| author | Ewa Kowal |
| author_facet | Ewa Kowal |
| author_sort | Ewa Kowal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aims of the paper are twofold. Firstly, it analyses Benjamin Markovits’ 2015 novel You Don’t Have to Live Like This as an example of the nascent genre of the “Obama-era novel.” Set in Detroit during Obama’s supposedly post-racial presidency, Markovits’ work offers a critical assessment of its legacy and addresses the problem of growing racial tensions reflecting both the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement and the most recent crisis of white masculinity. Secondly, the novel is read as a literary response to the economic aftermath of the Great Recession following the 2008 global financial crisis. The novel’s depiction of a fictitious corporate-run scheme attempting Detroit’s urban revitalisation is interpreted as a critique of the “Yes, we can” culture about to be replaced by the “Trump-era,” which the novel anticipates. Finally, the novel is compared to other examples of “crash fiction”; it is argued that Markovits’ work is a rare example of literature’s deeper and direct engagement with the recent economic crisis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:44:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2ab0ad7cd8145a3a69f5bc6dbbdb6fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2545-0131 2543-5981 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:44:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Polish Association for the Study of English |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polish Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2ab0ad7cd8145a3a69f5bc6dbbdb6fe2022-12-22T02:24:22ZengPolish Association for the Study of EnglishPolish Journal of English Studies2545-01312543-59812021-01-01715779No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like ThisEwa Kowal0Jagiellonian University in Kraków The aims of the paper are twofold. Firstly, it analyses Benjamin Markovits’ 2015 novel You Don’t Have to Live Like This as an example of the nascent genre of the “Obama-era novel.” Set in Detroit during Obama’s supposedly post-racial presidency, Markovits’ work offers a critical assessment of its legacy and addresses the problem of growing racial tensions reflecting both the beginnings of the Black Lives Matter movement and the most recent crisis of white masculinity. Secondly, the novel is read as a literary response to the economic aftermath of the Great Recession following the 2008 global financial crisis. The novel’s depiction of a fictitious corporate-run scheme attempting Detroit’s urban revitalisation is interpreted as a critique of the “Yes, we can” culture about to be replaced by the “Trump-era,” which the novel anticipates. Finally, the novel is compared to other examples of “crash fiction”; it is argued that Markovits’ work is a rare example of literature’s deeper and direct engagement with the recent economic crisis.http://pjes.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PJES_7-1_4_Ewa_Kowal.pdfbarack obamadetroitthe great recessionblack lives matterprecarity |
| spellingShingle | Ewa Kowal No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This Polish Journal of English Studies barack obama detroit the great recession black lives matter precarity |
| title | No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This |
| title_full | No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This |
| title_fullStr | No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This |
| title_full_unstemmed | No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This |
| title_short | No, We Can’t: Racial Tensions and the Great Recession in Benjamin Markovits’ “Obama-Era Novel” You Don’t Have to Live Like This |
| title_sort | no we can t racial tensions and the great recession in benjamin markovits obama era novel you don t have to live like this |
| topic | barack obama detroit the great recession black lives matter precarity |
| url | http://pjes.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PJES_7-1_4_Ewa_Kowal.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ewakowal nowecantracialtensionsandthegreatrecessioninbenjaminmarkovitsobamaeranovelyoudonthavetolivelikethis |