This collection of original and insightful essays was written by teachers seeking to restore literature as a powerful teaching tool in the undergraduate classroom. This book rejects postmodern theorizing, opting instead to assert that great poets, playwrights, and novelists self-consciously intended to impart compelling moral and political lessons. The essays focus on fundamental questions such as: What is justice? What does it mean to be a good human being? What are the strengths and weaknesses of a particular form of government? and, How are we to understand and resolve the tensions between private affections and public responsibilities? This is important reading for anyone concerned about the impact of postmodern literary analysis.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
. . . a welcome contribution to literary and political studies in these confused and confusing times. -- Mera J. Flaumenhaft, St. John's College, Annapolis The essays add both depth and breadth to the newly emerging field of politics and literature . . . a wealth of material for individual readers' enjoyment or potential course use. -- Catherine H. Zuckert Readers who take the intentions of poets, playwrights, and novelists seriously and who believe that their texts can offer valuable insights into perennial political issues will find this volume of essays to be an indispensable resource. -- Ethan Fishman, University of South Alabama One cannot help but be struck by the power of these essays to draw the reader into their subject-matter. Novels, poems, plays, and short stories, in the consideration they receive here, remain ever-present for the reader and are not jettisoned. . . . These essays are to be commended for undertaking the kind of study of literature that located the common ground for discussing books in the books themselves. . . . one always gets the sense that the book and its questions remain open for consideration. If such is the consequence of approaching literature with the idea . . . that authors have a conscious and articulable intention, and that they aim to teach through their work, then it is a welsome consequence for the serious reader. * Books In Canada * The work should be of interest to political theorists who are interested in the relationship between politics and literature. . . . Essential for librariesssss * CHOICE * The work should be of interest to political theorists who are interested in the relationship between politics and literature. . . . Essential for libraries * CHOICE *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 155 mm
Dicke: 23 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8476-8199-0 (9780847681990)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Joseph M. Knippenberg is associate professor of politics at Oglethorpe University. Peter A. Lawler is professor of political science at Berry College.
Chapter 1 Acknowledgments Chapter 2 Introduction Part 3 Part I: Christianity and Modernity Chapter 4 Don Quixote and Christian Imperialism Chapter 5 Virtue, Honor and Reputation: Machiavelli's Appropriation of Christianity in the "Rape" of Lucrezia Part 6 Part II: Modern Revolution Chapter 7 Master and Man in Melville's "Benito Cereno" Chapter 8 Politics of Hatred in A Tale of Two Cities Chapter 9 The Sea Wolf: Nature Versus Morality Chapter 10 The Pestilent Intellect: Camus's Post-Christian Vision Part 11 Part III: Love in the Ruins Chapter 12 Family and Politics in Aristophanes Chapter 13 Flannery O'Connor and the Limits of Justice Chapter 14 Lost in the Cosmos: Walker Percy's Analysis of American Restlessness Chapter 15 Paul Scott's Raj Quintet: Real Politics in Imagined Gardens Part 16 Part IV: Literature and the Permanent Questions Chapter 17 Nature and Convention in King Lear Chapter 18 The Famous Victories of William Shakespeare: The Life of Henry the Fifth Chapter 19 Moral Education in Jane Austen's Emma Chapter 20 Friendship and Divine Justice in Homer's Iliad Chapter 21 Index