Facing the Crises

Anglophone Literature in the Postmodern World
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4438-5395-8
Verlag: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 220 Seiten

Owing to the diverse research interests of the contributors, this collection of essays offers a varied picture of the current approaches to Anglo-American literature and culture, and points to the need for a deeper understanding of current cultural, economic and social processes in the globalizing and globalized culture of the West.

Because “crisis” seems to be the key word of contemporary Western culture, the first part of the book, titled “In the Face of Crises”, explores the implicit or explicit idea of a crisis between the real and the simulated, suggesting that one of the major issues for the contemporary man is how to deal with the virtual or with the “absence of the real”. Our fast-paced, technology-laden and materialist-oriented existence brings about the need to rethink our human identity, putting into perspective our relationship to technology, the impact of capitalist economy and colonial past, as well as consequences of constant warfare. The second part of the book, “New Perspectives on Literary Genres”, analyzes forms, topics and styles in literary texts belonging to specific, sometimes marginalized, genres. Literary analyses in this section also touch upon the idea of crisis: be it the crisis of understanding and redefining a particular genre, or a crisis that is inherent in the controversial topic or form of the text.

As a reaction to recent allegations concerning the crisis of humanities as “non-profitable”, this book shows that humanist research is indispensable and crucial for understanding the human condition, making this book a relevant addition to the contemporary discussion of literature and culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Matek, Ljubica

Poljak Rehlicki, Jasna

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Englische Literatur Amerikanische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Gattungen
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literatursoziologie, Gender Studies

Über Autor(innen)

Ljubica Matek, PhD, teaches English Literature at the Department of English at the University of Osijek. Her research interests include fantastic literature, film, and representations of family in contemporary anglophone literature. She is a member of the Croatian Association for English Studies (CAES), the Croatian Association for American Studies (CAAS), the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE) and the Croatian Association for Philology (HFD).

Jasna Poljak Rehlicki teaches American Literature at the Department of English at the University of Osijek. Her main focus of research is contemporary war fiction, twentieth-century American literature, and drama. In 2011/2012 she received a Fulbright scholarship as a Visiting Researcher at the Portland State University, Oregon.