1. Modernism
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Matthew Stratton
Abstract
Scholars have recently and dramatically expanded the concept of modernism, and the term is now used to describe a wide variety of transnational artists and artworks that appeared roughly from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. These artworks and artists are also recognized as being situated in and responding to a broader field of historical and social forces than was long assumed. Nonetheless, some characteristics of the concept “modernism” seem to persist: a turn away from “realistic” representation of external events and toward interiority and psychology; concern with the possibilities of representing past and future; and the role of the individual artist in representing both solitary and collective experience. Finally, rather than focusing on what precisely modernism “was” or “wasn’t,” it is more productive to consider how the conceptual frame of “modernism” itself changes our understanding of the artists, art, and ideologies to which the term refers.
Abstract
Scholars have recently and dramatically expanded the concept of modernism, and the term is now used to describe a wide variety of transnational artists and artworks that appeared roughly from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. These artworks and artists are also recognized as being situated in and responding to a broader field of historical and social forces than was long assumed. Nonetheless, some characteristics of the concept “modernism” seem to persist: a turn away from “realistic” representation of external events and toward interiority and psychology; concern with the possibilities of representing past and future; and the role of the individual artist in representing both solitary and collective experience. Finally, rather than focusing on what precisely modernism “was” or “wasn’t,” it is more productive to consider how the conceptual frame of “modernism” itself changes our understanding of the artists, art, and ideologies to which the term refers.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Systematic Questions
- 1. Modernism 21
- 2. Postmodernism 35
- 3. Cultural Diversity 52
- 4. Intermediality 68
- 5. Inter-American Perspectives 84
- 6. The American Novel and the Marketplace 98
- 7. Futures of the American Novel 113
-
Part II. Close Readings
- 8. Henry James, The Ambassadors (1903) 131
- 9. Willa Cather, My Ántonia (1918) 148
- 10. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) 162
- 11. John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer (1925) 177
- 12. Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926) 192
- 13. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (1936) 206
- 14. Djuna Barnes, Nightwood (1936) 222
- 15. John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) 237
- 16. Richard Wright, Native Son (1940) 250
- 17. Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men (1946) 264
- 18. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952) 278
- 19. Flannery O’Connor, Wise Blood (1952) 294
- 20. Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955) 308
- 21. Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) 322
- 22. Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977) 337
- 23. Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (1984) 351
- 24. Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985) 361
- 25. Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987) 374
- 26. Philip Roth, American Pastoral (1997) 388
- 27. Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005) 401
- 28. Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006) 414
- 29. Louise Erdrich, The Round House (2012) 427
- Index of Subjects 443
- Index of Names 447
- List of Contributors 459
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Systematic Questions
- 1. Modernism 21
- 2. Postmodernism 35
- 3. Cultural Diversity 52
- 4. Intermediality 68
- 5. Inter-American Perspectives 84
- 6. The American Novel and the Marketplace 98
- 7. Futures of the American Novel 113
-
Part II. Close Readings
- 8. Henry James, The Ambassadors (1903) 131
- 9. Willa Cather, My Ántonia (1918) 148
- 10. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) 162
- 11. John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer (1925) 177
- 12. Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926) 192
- 13. William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (1936) 206
- 14. Djuna Barnes, Nightwood (1936) 222
- 15. John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939) 237
- 16. Richard Wright, Native Son (1940) 250
- 17. Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men (1946) 264
- 18. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952) 278
- 19. Flannery O’Connor, Wise Blood (1952) 294
- 20. Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955) 308
- 21. Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) 322
- 22. Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977) 337
- 23. Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (1984) 351
- 24. Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985) 361
- 25. Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987) 374
- 26. Philip Roth, American Pastoral (1997) 388
- 27. Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005) 401
- 28. Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006) 414
- 29. Louise Erdrich, The Round House (2012) 427
- Index of Subjects 443
- Index of Names 447
- List of Contributors 459