The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South

This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18–29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South....

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Autor principal:	Wongi Park
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	curse of Ham Hebrew Bible antebellum south slavery racism whiteness Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/507dd92821934c5f9607509e13a76115
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:507dd92821934c5f9607509e13a761152021-11-25T18:52:36ZThe Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South10.3390/rel121109282077-1444https://doaj.org/article/507dd92821934c5f9607509e13a761152021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/928https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18–29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South. However, more than simply being used as a prooftext for racist agendas, the curse of Ham provided a biblical foil for circumscribing a racial hierarchy where whiteness was positioned as superior in the figure of Japheth. By considering key features of the racist antebellum interpretation, I argue that the proslavery rationalization of Christian antebellum writers is rooted in a deracialized whiteness that was biblically produced and blessed with divine authority.Wongi ParkMDPI AGarticlecurse of HamHebrew Bibleantebellum southslaveryracismwhitenessReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 928, p 928 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	curse of Ham Hebrew Bible antebellum south slavery racism whiteness Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	curse of Ham Hebrew Bible antebellum south slavery racism whiteness Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Wongi Park The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
description	This essay examines the antebellum history of interpretation surrounding the curse of Ham in Gen 9:18–29. It explores how modern notions of scientific racism were read into the story as a de facto justification for the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery in the antebellum South. However, more than simply being used as a prooftext for racist agendas, the curse of Ham provided a biblical foil for circumscribing a racial hierarchy where whiteness was positioned as superior in the figure of Japheth. By considering key features of the racist antebellum interpretation, I argue that the proslavery rationalization of Christian antebellum writers is rooted in a deracialized whiteness that was biblically produced and blessed with divine authority.
format	article
author	Wongi Park
author_facet	Wongi Park
author_sort	Wongi Park
title	The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
title_short	The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
title_full	The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
title_fullStr	The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
title_full_unstemmed	The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South
title_sort	blessing of whiteness in the curse of ham: reading gen 9:18–29 in the antebellum south
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/507dd92821934c5f9607509e13a76115
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The Blessing of Whiteness in the Curse of Ham: Reading Gen 9:18–29 in the Antebellum South

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