Is it possible for postmodernism to offer coherent accounts of ethics in a fragmented social and intellectual world? In this collection, a distinguished international gathering of philosophers and literary scholars address the renewed interest in the literary text as a focus for ethical issues. Exponents of this trend include Charles Taylor, Bernard Williams, Iris Murdoch, Cora Diamond, Richard Rorty and Martha Nussbaum--a contributor and a key figure in this volume. This book assesses the significance of this development for ethical and literary theory.
Is it possible for postmodernism to offer coherent accounts of ethics in a fragmented social and intellectual world? In this collection, a distinguish...
Throughout the twentieth century, the epistemological status of literature, the problem of language's claim to true representation, has challenged our received notions of ontology and being itself. In Singularities, Thomas Pepper addresses the relationship among text, philosopical value and critical difficulty through a rich sequence of nuanced close readings of especially demanding texts. Singularities addresses key moments in the work of seminal twentieth-century theorists, and by offering a critique of the very process of thematic reading, questions the whole direction of contemporary...
Throughout the twentieth century, the epistemological status of literature, the problem of language's claim to true representation, has challenged our...
Literary personification has long been taken for granted as an important aspect of Western narrative; Paul de Man had given it prominence as "the master trope of poetic discourse." James Paxson here offers a critical and theoretical appraisal of personification in the light of developments in poststructuralist thought. He reassesses early theories and examines the allegorical texts of Prudentius, Chaucer, Langland and Spenser to show how personification works as a complex artistic tool for revealing and advertising the problems and limits inherent in poetic or verbal creation.
Literary personification has long been taken for granted as an important aspect of Western narrative; Paul de Man had given it prominence as "the mast...
This book explores the political significance of aesthetic analysis in the context of cultural and film studies, and asks how political responsibility can be reconciled with the concept of the university as a democratic institution. Through detailed reference to Neil Jordan's film The Crying Game, Patrick McGee shows how film can be both a product of the culture industry and a critique of it. He analyzes the function of the university in producing interpretations of such highly political art forms and in determing the limits of critical discussion. McGee links Adorno with Derrida to provide a...
This book explores the political significance of aesthetic analysis in the context of cultural and film studies, and asks how political responsibility...
