Toward Diversity and Emancipation (Re-)Narrating Space in the Contemporary American Novel Marcel Thoene

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thoene, Marcel <p>Marcel Thoene, University of Bielefeld, Germany</p>, Author.

Series:

Lettre.

Lettre

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Space.

America.

Narrative Theory.

Contemporary Novels.

Diversity.

Cultural History.

Literature.

American Studies.

Theory of Literature.

Literary Studies.

Local Subjects:

Space.

America.

Narrative Theory.

Contemporary Novels.

Diversity.

Cultural History.

Literature.

American Studies.

Theory of Literature.

Literary Studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Thoene, Toward Diversity and Emancipation (Re-)Narrating Space in the Contemporary American Novel

Place of Publication:

Bielefeld transcript Verlag 2016

Language Note:

In English.

Biography/History:

Marcel Thoene (Dr.) studied English and American Literature at Bielefeld University and SUNY Albany. His research interests include the American novel, early American literature as well as theories of American culture and history and literary theory.

Summary:

This book focuses on the pivotal role which space and spatiality assume in plot and narrative discourse of contemporary U.S.-American literary narratives. Embarking from a new, spatialized approach to cultural history and particularly narrative theory that might also prove useful for neighboring philologies, Marcel Thoene hypothesizes that the canon of novels selected represents a dialectic of simultaneous affirmation and subversion of the American space myth. This results in an integrative and emancipatory function of space reflecting the current dynamic toward a more transcultural, diverse and conflictive post-national U.S.-American society.

Contents:

Frontmatter 1 Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgments 9 1.) Introduction. Contemporary American (Literary) Studies, the Spatial Turn and Narrativity 11 2.) Key Tropes of Space in U.S.-American Cultural History 61 3.) Literary Tradition: Space in Earlier Periods of U.S.-American Literature 93 4.) Re-Thinking Narrative Theory for Contemporary Literature 105 5.) Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections 139 6.) Toni Morrison's African American History Trilogy 179 7.) Luis Alberto Urrea - Into the Beautiful North 227 8.) Sherman Alexie - Reservation Blues 269 9.) Conclusion 307 Works Cited 317

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9783839435083

3839435080

OCLC:

955147437