Exceptional Violence and the Crisis of Classic American Literature (1st ed. 2022) (American Literature Readings in the 21st Century)
By:
Sign Up Now!
Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title.
Learn about membership options,
or view our freely available titles.
- Synopsis
- This book is an interdisciplinary study of antebellum American literature and the problem of political emergency. Arguing that the United States endured sustained conflicts over the nature and operation of sovereignty in the unsettled era from the Founding to the Civil War, the book presents two forms of governance: local and regional control, and national governance. The period’s states of exception arose from these clashing imperatives, creating contests over land, finance, and, above all, slavery, that drove national politics. Extensively employing the political and cultural insights of Walter Benjamin, this book surveys antebellum American writers to understand how they situated themselves and their work in relation to these episodes, specifically focusing on the experience of violence. Exploring the work of Edgar Allan Poe, ex-slave narrators like Moses Roper and Henry Bibb, Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson, the book applies some central aspects of Walter Benjamin’s literary and cultural criticism to the deep investment in pain in antebellum politics and culture.
- Copyright:
- 2022
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- ISBN-13:
- 9783031078453
- Related ISBNs:
- 9783031078446
- Publisher:
- Springer International Publishing
- Date of Addition:
- 09/25/22
- Copyrighted By:
- The Editor
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts, Philosophy
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
Reviews
Other Books
- by Joseph Fichtelberg
- in History
- in Nonfiction
- in Literature and Fiction
- in Language Arts
- in Philosophy