Predicting the Past The Paradoxes of American Literary History / Michael Boyden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boyden, Michael.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--History and criticism--Theory, etc.

American literature.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (214 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leuven : Leuven University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Drawing from the social theories of Niklas Luhmann and Mary Douglas, Predicting the Past advocates a reflexive understanding of the paradoxical institutional dynamic of American literary history as a professional discipline and field of study. Contrary to most disciplinary accounts, Michael Boyden resists the utopian impulse to offer supposedly definitive solutions for the legitimation crises besetting American literature studies by ""going beyond"" its inherited racist, classist, and sexist underpinnings. Approaching the existence of the American literary tradition as a typically modern probl

Contents:

The pre-history of American literature : early prospects (1850-1910)

Live and let live : debating contemporary literature (1890-1930)

The uses of language : literary polyvocality and ethnic continuity (1880-1950)

Precursors and exemplars : genealogies in American literary history.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-204) and index.

Description based on print version record.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode

ISBN:

94-6166-010-3

OCLC:

715171831