Law and Literature Analysis of the Segregation Cases and the "Separate but Equal Doctrine"

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02557
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Seikei University
• Principal Investigator: Gonda Kenji 成蹊大学, 文学部, 教授 (00407602)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 人種分離 / レイシズム / 人種関係 / 法と文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

By placing racial segregation in a broad cultural and historical context, this research reveals that it was more complex and diverse than is generally understood. The practice of separating black and white races was not confined to the U.S. South of the late 19th century to early 20th century. It was already a custom in the North at least as early as the late 18th century. This study also demonstrates that racial classification was far more ambiguous than the rigid legal definitions in many Southern states which dictates who constitute blacks might state. Furthermore, this research contends that there is a strong ideological link between slavery and segregation and that is what underlay the different practices of segregation across time and geographical location.

Free Research Field

アメリカ文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

南北戦争以後の人種隔離および〈分離すれど平等〉原則に関するこれまでの研究は、法学研究及び歴史研究の両方の分野でこれまで盛んに行われてきた。しかしながら、法や裁判所の判決の歴史的作用を踏まえながら、判決文等の法的言説を修辞学的・文学的に議論した研究、あるいは文学テクストを法的言説と関連させて読み解く研究は比較的少ない。本研究は、文学・非文学テクストにおける人種隔離の表象やその正当化の（あるいは反対する）議論に焦点をあて、〈分離すれど平等〉をより広い文化的・歴史的にコンテストに位置付けることで、19世紀末から20世紀初頭の合衆国南部に限定されない人種隔離の重層性を明らかにすることができた。