Although usually discussed in terms of liberal humanism and affirmation of life, Bellow s work allows for an interpretation displaying notes of negativity and pessimism, emphasizing Bellow s proximity to the -postmodernist canon-. The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of such an alternative reading through the focus on the problem of the genre. Bellow s novels are frequently referred to as Bildungsromane, but a related term the Antibildungsroman seems more appropriate to denote texts expressing the limitations of human intellectual vanity, the futility of human...

This volume of essays examines the relationship between eating and crisis. The United States long-lasting economic and cultural hegemony raises a number of questions: Has America been literally and metaphorically eating, appropriating, exploiting, and molding the world in its own image, or has it been eaten, appropriated, and exploited as a (frequently criticized or disdained) source of ideas, ideology, and knowledge? What is the relation between the current ecological crisis and America s consumerist economy, with its practices of food production and consumption, and its use of natural...