Books in Brief: Striking Features: Psychoanalysis and Racial Passing Narratives by Donavan Ramon

About the Book
Publication: 2024
Publisher: Mercer University Press

A provocative exploration of racial passing narratives through psychoanalysis, revealing the trauma, desires, and psychological consequences of crossing the color line.

This post is part of the Books in Brief series, which features concise conversations with scholars about their books in African American literary studies.

1. What inspired you to pursue the lines of research and writing that resulted in this book? 

As an undergraduate, I read a few passing narratives back to back: James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, Nella Larsen’s Passing, and Jessie Fauset’s Plum Bun, among many others. I started noticing some trends across these narratives, which really crystallized for me as a graduate student at Rutgers when I enrolled in Michelle Stephens’ Race and Psychoanalysis graduate seminar. This class allowed me to put together my dual interests in passing and psychoanalysis.

2. What surprised you most during your research or writing process? The scholarly reticence to put race and psychoanalysis in dialogue. I now understand why, but due to this scholarly gap, I had a hard time finding sources when situating my work. This meant the scholarship at the intersection of racial passing and psychoanalysis was essentially nonexistent until my book was published.

3. What was the hardest decision you had to make while writing this book? Having to cut out a large section on folks passing as Black. I wrote a little bit about the Rachel Dolezals of the world in my conclusion, but that section was longer in the initial draft. Ultimately, I opted to keep my focus on passing as white, since it was/is far more prevalent.

4. What's one lesson you learned while producing this book that you'll carry into future projects? Concision. Due to modern reading practices, it’s best to be more concise. My chapters are far too long, so in my future projects I will have shorter chapters and get to the point sooner instead of waiting for the big payoff toward the end.

5. If any come to mind, are there books in African American literary studies that you see your work in conversation with?
Yes, Freud Upside Down: African American Literature and Psychoanalytic Culture by Badia Ahad and Claudia Tate’s Psychoanalysis and Black Novels. Though this latter work is older, it is a turning point in the scholarship at the intersection of race and psychoanalysis.