American Literature’s Aesthetic Dimensions
by Cindy Weinstein /
2012 / English / EPUB
2.7 MB Download
Rethinking the category of aesthetics in light of recent
developments in literary theory and social criticism, the
contributors to this volume showcase the interpretive possibilities
available to those who bring politics, culture, ideology, and
conceptions of identity into their critiques. Essays combine close
readings of individual works and authors with more theoretical
discussions of aesthetic theory and its relation to American
literature. In their introduction, Weinstein and Looby argue that
aesthetics never left American literary critique. Instead, the
essay casts the current "return to aesthetics" as the natural
consequence of shortcomings in deconstruction and new historicism,
which led to a reconfiguration of aesthetics.
Rethinking the category of aesthetics in light of recent
developments in literary theory and social criticism, the
contributors to this volume showcase the interpretive possibilities
available to those who bring politics, culture, ideology, and
conceptions of identity into their critiques. Essays combine close
readings of individual works and authors with more theoretical
discussions of aesthetic theory and its relation to American
literature. In their introduction, Weinstein and Looby argue that
aesthetics never left American literary critique. Instead, the
essay casts the current "return to aesthetics" as the natural
consequence of shortcomings in deconstruction and new historicism,
which led to a reconfiguration of aesthetics.
Subsequent essays demonstrate the value and versatility of
aesthetic considerations in literature, from eighteenth-century
poetry to twentieth-century popular music. Organized into four
groups―politics, form, gender, and theory―contributors revisit the
canonical works of Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stephen
Crane, introduce the overlooked texts of Constance Fenimore Woolson
and Earl Lind, and unpack the complexities of the music of The
Carpenters. Deeply rooted in an American context, these essays
explore literature's aesthetic dimensions in connection to American
liberty and the formation of political selfhood.
Subsequent essays demonstrate the value and versatility of
aesthetic considerations in literature, from eighteenth-century
poetry to twentieth-century popular music. Organized into four
groups―politics, form, gender, and theory―contributors revisit the
canonical works of Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stephen
Crane, introduce the overlooked texts of Constance Fenimore Woolson
and Earl Lind, and unpack the complexities of the music of The
Carpenters. Deeply rooted in an American context, these essays
explore literature's aesthetic dimensions in connection to American
liberty and the formation of political selfhood.
Contributors include Edward Cahill, Ivy G. Wilson, June Ellison,
Dorri Beam, Christopher Castiglia, Christopher Looby, Wendy
Steiner, Cindy Weinstein, Trish Loughran, Jonathan Freedman, Elisa
New, Dorothy Hale, Mary Esteve, Eric Lott, Sianne Ngai
Contributors include Edward Cahill, Ivy G. Wilson, June Ellison,
Dorri Beam, Christopher Castiglia, Christopher Looby, Wendy
Steiner, Cindy Weinstein, Trish Loughran, Jonathan Freedman, Elisa
New, Dorothy Hale, Mary Esteve, Eric Lott, Sianne Ngai