American literature's aesthetic dimensions / edited by Cindy Weinstein and Christopher Looby.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Weinstein, Cindy.

Looby, Christopher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--History and criticism.

American literature.

Literature--Aesthetics.

Literature.

Physical Description:

xi, 426 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2012]

Summary:

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 discussions of aesthetic theory and its relation to American literature. In their introduction, Weinstein and Looby cast the current "return to aesthetics" as the result 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. 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. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 Aesthetics and the Politics of Freedom liberty of the Imagination in Revolutionary America / Edward Cahill Cahill, Edward 39

yThe Writing on the Wall: Revolutionary Aesthetics and Interior Spaces / Ivy G. Wilson Wilson, Ivy G. 56

yStephen Crane's Refrain / Max Cavitch Cavitch, Max 73

yLyric Citizenship in Post 9/11 Performance: Sekou Sundiata's the 51st (dream) state / Julie Eilison Eilison, Julie 91

Part 2 Aesthetics and the Representation of Sexuality

Aesthetics Beyond the Actual: The Marble Faun and Romantic Sociality / Christopher Castiglia Castiglia, Christopher 117

Henry James, Constance Fenimore Woolson, and the Figure in the Carpet / Dorri Beam Beam, Dorri 137

Sexuality's Aesthetic Dimension: Kant and the Autobiography of an Androgyne / Christopher Looby Looby, Christopher 156

From Hawthorne to Hairspray: American Anxieties About Beauty / Wendy Steiner Steiner, Wendy 178

Part 3 Aesthetics and the Reading of Form When Is Now? Poe's Aesthetics of Temporality / Cindy Weinstein Weinstein, Cindy 197

Reading in the Present Tense: Benito Cereno and the Time of Reading / Trish LoughRan LoughRan, Trish 219

What Maggie Knew: Game Theory, The Golden Bowl, and the Critical Possibilities of Aesthetic Knowledge / Jonathan Freedman Freedman, Jonathan, Addendum, Nan Zhang Da Da, Nan Zhang 242

Upon a Peak in Beinecke: The Beauty of the Book in the Poetry of Susan Howe / Elisa New New, Elisa 263

Part 4 Aesthetics and the Question of Theory

Warped Conjunctions: Jacques Ranciere and African American Twoness / Nancy Bentley Bentley, Nancy 291

Aesthetics and the New Ethics: Theorizing the Novel in the Twenty-First Century / Dorothy J. Hale Hale, Dorothy J. 313

Postwar Pastoral: The Art of Happiness in Philip Roth / Mary Esteve Esteve, Mary 328

Perfect Is Dead: Karen Carpenter, Theodor Adorno, and the Radio; or, If Hooks CouldKill / Eric Lott Lott, Eric 349

Network Aesthetics: Juliana Spahr's The Transformation and Bruno Latour's Reassembling the Social / Sianne Ngai Ngai, Sianne 367.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780231156165

0231156162

9780231156172

0231156170

9780231520775

0231520778

OCLC:

756912937