American utopia and social engineering in literature, social thought, and political history / Peter Swirski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swirski, Peter, 1966- author.

Series:

Routledge transnational perspectives on American literature ; 15.

Routledge transnational perspectives on American literature ; 15

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

American fiction.

Political fiction, American--History and criticism.

Political fiction, American.

Utopias in literature.

Social control in literature.

National characteristics, American, in literature.

Exceptionalism--United States.

Exceptionalism.

Social engineering--United States--History--20th century.

Social engineering.

Political culture--United States--History--20th century.

Political culture.

Literature and society--United States--History--20th century.

Literature and society.

Politics and literature--United States--History--20th century.

Politics and literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (266 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The United States today is afflicted with political alienation, militarized violence, institutionalized poverty, and social agony. Worst of all, perhaps, it is afflicted with chronic and acute ahistoricism. America insist on ignoring the context of its present dilemmas. It insists on forgetting what preceded the headlines of today and on denying continuity with history. It insists, in short, on its exceptionalism.American Utopia and Social Engineering sets out to correct this amnesia. It misses no opportunity to flesh out both the historical premises and the politic

Contents:

Introduction: life is more important than art or social engineering, eutopia, and evolution

How I stopped worrying and loved behavioural engineering, or communal life, adaptations, and B.F. Skinner's Walden two

You're not in Canada until you can hear the loons crying, or voting, people's power, and Ken Kesey's One flew over the cuckoo's nest

You'll never make a monkey out of me, or altruism, proverbial wisdom, and Bernard Malamud's God's grace

We better kill the instinct to kill before it kills us, or violence, mind control, and Walker Percy's The Thanatos syndrome

It can't happen here, or politics, emotions, and Philip Roth's The plot against America.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-136-72338-2

1-136-72339-0

1-283-15100-6

9786613151001

0-203-81661-7

9780203816615

OCLC:

730151696