(Re)citing Diaspora as Scriptural Cartographies

This is a substantial and subtle study of the discourse of diaspora from a Black Atlantic perspective that not only resists a rigid and static framework of the nation-state, but also recommends a reorientation of biblical studies in terms of its assumptions and conventions. Readers who are willing to tackle this thick tome will be rewarded with many thought-provoking ideas. * Tat-siong Benny Liew, College of the Holy Cross *
Eschewing the trendiness of ingenuity of exegesis too often marked by faux historicism and misplaced and faulty theologisms, with this book Carter has raised his voice within the small circle of multifield and transdisciplinary theorists of the scriptural. Using segments of the African diaspora as grounding, his pursuit of some basic issues and dynamics that have determined the psycho-logics and politics and orientation of historical and contemporary cultural formation is provocative and intriguing, worth the serious attention of all cultural critics. * Vincent L. Wimbush, Institute for Signifying Scriptures *
In the lineage of Vincent Wimbush’s field-shifting work, Carter’s (re)Citing Diaspora as Scriptural Cartographies offers an ambitious re-orientation of historical knowledge practices away from anti-Blackness, univocality, and canonicity towards ones that center differentness, polyvocality, and relationships. With close attention to metaphors and metanarratives, Carter persuasively proposes a conceptual shift in our understanding of diaspora. Especially striking are the creative “interludes” that model his approach through new forms of storytelling. * Denise Kimber Buell, Williams College *
Carter's thoughtful and profound re-articulation of the humility involved in proposing new interpretations of truth and objectivity. . .are compelling, thrilling, and even a bit hopeful. The careful differentiation between people, nation, and nation-state is worth the price of admission alone. * Daniel Boyarin, author of The No State Solution *