Introduction

Abstract

The introduction presents the book’s core argument that contemporary African American and Caribbean women writers advocate for a reassessment of economic, social, and political practices within US and Caribbean societies while leading readers to greater class consciousness. Specifically, they use what is coined a “cross- class relationship trope” as a central way to critique class inequalities of their respective nations and class division within African American and Caribbean communities. The introduction also provides the book’s theoretical framework and methodological approach before offering a historical review of the development of class dynamics in African American and Caribbean thought and the complexity of defining class and examining issues of class. Finally, it provides an overview of the book’s organization. The book is separated into two parts: the first part focuses on African American literature and the second part concentrates on Caribbean literature, specifically on Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Each chapter highlights class inequality or division, and the cross-class relationship trope is a connective thread throughout.