Episode 16: Elizabeth Fox Genovese, "Within the Plantation Household, 1988

Comps List Radio · Sep 25, 2026 · 1h · transcript

Rob and Marie extend the Genovese-theme for one more episode as they discuss the work of the incredible Elizabeth Fox-Genovese.

Specifically, we analyze her most famous work "Within the Plantation Household," which fundamentally reshaped Southern women's history. We discuss how Fox-Genovese conceived of the antebellum South, and the central role that both Black and white women played. We argue that, in fact, Fox-Genovese is as responsible as anyone else for fatally wounding Eugene Genovese's paternalism thesis, and that (in many ways) this is a more satisfying book than Roll Jordan Roll.

We…