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Eugene D. Genovese

ユージーン・D・ジェノヴェーゼ

Yūjīn D. Jenovēze

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1930-05-19 （Brooklyn, New York, U.S.）
Died
2012-09-26 （Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.） age 82
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Roman Catholic Baptized in 1996
Residence History
Brooklyn, New York → Montreal (taught at Sir George Williams University) → Rochester, New York (taught at University of Rochester) → Atlanta, Georgia (later life)

Career

Occupations
Historian, Professor
Active Years
1958-2012
Affiliations
University of Rochester, Rutgers University, Sir George Williams University (Concordia predecessor), College of William and Mary, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia, Emory University, Georgia State University, Yale University (visiting/lectures), University of Cambridge (visiting/lectures)
Memberships
Organization of American Historians (served as president), Science & Society (editorial board), Studies on the Left (editor)
Influenced By
Antonio Gramsci, Ulrich B. Phillips, Marvin Harris
Influenced
Scholars of Southern history and slavery (e.g., David Brion Davis), Subsequent slavery historians (e.g., Manisha Sinha)

Education

Brooklyn College
History
Degree: BA
Period: ～1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree
Columbia University
History
Degree: MA
Period: ～1955
Year of Graduation: 1955
Country: United States
Master's degree
Columbia University
History
Degree: PhD
Period: ～1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: United States
Doctorate (PhD)

Awards

Bancroft Prize
1975
Work: Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made
Organization: Columbia University (Bancroft Prize)
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Political Economy of Slavery: Studies in the Economy and the Society of the Slave South

1965 Scholarly history, economic history

A collection of essays analyzing the Southern slave economy from a Marxist perspective, arguing slavery had pre-capitalist and paternalistic characteristics that affected its development.

slaveryeconomic historyclass analysis

The World the Slaveholders Made

1969 Scholarly history, social history

Portrays slaveholders' world as seigneurial and anti-modern, discussing how Southern society and slavery functioned socially and culturally.

Southern societyplanter cultureanti-modernism

Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made

1974 Scholarly history, cultural history

A detailed study of slave society, treating religion, music and culture as forms of resistance and redefining resistance broadly to include cultural practices and everyday acts.

slave resistancereligion and culturehistory of everyday life

From Rebellion to Revolution: Afro-American Slave Revolts in the Making of the Modern World

1979 Scholarly history

Examines changes in slave revolts, arguing they evolved from efforts to win freedom to attempts to overthrow slavery as a system.

uprisingsrevolutionevolution of resistance

Fruits of Merchant Capital: Slavery and Bourgeois Property in the Rise and Expansion of Capitalism

1983 Scholarly history, economic history (co-authored)

Co-authored with Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Discusses tensions between slavery and bourgeois property, viewing slavery as a hybrid system between pre-capitalist and capitalist forms.

slavery and capitalismpropertyinstitutional history

The Slaveholders' Dilemma: Freedom and Progress in Southern Conservative Thought, 1820–1860

1992 Intellectual history

Explores contradictions in Southern conservative thought regarding freedom and progress and the intellectual struggles of slaveholders.

intellectual historyconservative thoughtideology

The Mind of the Master Class: History and Faith in the Southern Slaveholders' Worldview

2005 Intellectual history, history of religion (with Elizabeth Fox-Genovese)

Surveys the reading, religious beliefs, and political philosophy of Southern slaveholders to reveal the intellectual worldview that justified slavery (co-authored).

intellectual lifereligion and thoughtplanter worldview

Miss Betsey: A Memoir of Marriage

2008 Memoir

A memoir reflecting on his marriage to Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.

family historypersonal memoir

Fatal Self-Deception: Slaveholding Paternalism in the Old South

2011 Scholarly history

Considers paternalistic slaveholding and its self-deceptive aspects, critically examining the justifications of slavery.

paternalismself-justificationcritique of slavery

Bibliography

  • The Political Economy of Slavery (1965)
  • The World the Slaveholders Made (1969)
  • Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974)
  • From Rebellion to Revolution (1979)
  • Fruits of Merchant Capital (1983, co-authored)
  • The Slaveholders' Dilemma (1992)
  • The Southern Tradition (1994)
  • The Mind of the Master Class (2005, co-authored)
  • Miss Betsey: A Memoir of Marriage (2008)
  • Fatal Self-Deception (2011)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly and analyticalCombines Marxist class analysis with intellectual-historical approaches
Recurring Motifs
power and class relationseveryday interactions between planters and slavesresistance through religion and culture

Health

  • cardiac ailment
    晩年
    Affected late-career activity and was reported as cause of death

Legacy

A major influence on studies of the American South and slavery. His incorporation of Marxist analysis and focus on the cultural life of slaves reshaped the field; his later political shift and public statements provoked controversy.

Academic Societies

  • Organization of American Historians

Quotes

  • "Those of you who know me know that I am a Marxist and a Socialist. Therefore, unlike most of my distinguished colleagues here this morning, I do not fear or regret the impending Viet Cong victory in Vietnam. I welcome it."
    Source: Statement at a Rutgers University teach-in, April 23, 1965 (1965)

Trivia

  • Joined the Communist Party USA at 15.
  • Married historian Elizabeth Fox in 1969.
  • Won the Bancroft Prize in 1975 for Roll, Jordan, Roll.
  • Converted (returned) to Catholicism in 1996.
  • Died in 2012 from a worsening cardiac ailment.