Twisted Mirrors: Reflections of Monstrous Humanity

Twisted Mirrors: Reflections of Monstrous Humanity
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-09-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1848881118

Twisted Mirrors is a collection of papers which examine the monstrous in relation to humanity. Culled from an international conference, these essays were written by scholars from a variety of fields and represent a broad cross-section in the scholastic investigation of the monstrous.

Edinburgh Companion to Queer Reading

Edinburgh Companion to Queer Reading
Author: Declan Kavanagh
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2024-11-30
Genre:
ISBN: 1399524828

What does it mean to read queerly? The Edinburgh Companion to Queer Reading upholds intersectional thinking to recognise the wide currency and appeal of queer studies for a new generation of scholars, activists, students and interested allies. Its four interconnecting parts - 'transing queer readings', 'reading queer ecologies', 'queer reading as practice' and 'reading queer futures' - speak to, and help to critique and foreground, expansive queer epistemologies. Contributors evocatively explore the relationships between queerness and genders, embodiments, race, narrative, methodology, history, literature, media and art. Bringing together emerging and established queer theorists, this timely collection demonstrates how germane queer readings, theories and companions are to the livelihood of interdisciplinary research and humanistic inquiry in the 2020s.

Middle Eastern Gothics

Middle Eastern Gothics
Author: Karen Grumberg
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2022-12-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1786839296

The chapters in this study cover the four major Middle Eastern languages (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish) and are authored by experts in these literatures, who read and engage with these texts in their original languages. Their intimate knowledge of the linguistic and cultural contexts of the works they analyse provides readers access to nuances in the texts and, ultimately, to a more profound understanding of them. This is the first cohesive collection addressing the Gothic in the geographic/linguistic context of the Middle East region. There has been increased interest not only in global iterations of the Gothic but also in Middle Eastern writing, particularly when it intersects with the Gothic (i.e. Frankenstein in Baghdad). The Introduction of the volume offers a new theorisation of Gothic literature, proposing the "transnational region" as a frame for reading literary texts that cross national and linguistic boundaries.

Life, Death, and Consciousness in the Long Nineteenth Century

Life, Death, and Consciousness in the Long Nineteenth Century
Author: Lucy Cogan
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2022-11-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3031133633

This book explores how the writers, poets, thinkers, historians, scientists, dilettantes and frauds of the long-nineteenth century addressed the “limit cases” regarding human existence that medicine continuously uncovered as it stretched the boundaries of knowledge. These cases cast troubling and distorted shadows on the culture, throwing into relief the values, vested interests, and power relations regarding the construction of embodied life and consciousness that underpinned the understanding of what it was to be alive in the long nineteenth century. Ranging over a period from the mid-eighteenth century through to the first decade of the twentieth century—an era that has been called the ‘Age of Science’—the essays collected here consider the cultural ripple effects of those previously unimaginable revolutions in science and medicine on humanity’s understanding of being.

Economics and Literature

Economics and Literature
Author: Ҫınla Akdere
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2017-09-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351865587

Since the Middle Ages, literature has portrayed the economic world in poetry, drama, stories and novels. The complexity of human realities highlights crucial aspects of the economy. The nexus linking characters to their economic environment is central in a new genre, the "economic novel", that puts forth economic choices and events to narrate social behavior, individual desires, and even non-economic decisions. For many authors, literary narration also offers a means to express critical viewpoints about economic development, for example in regards to its ecological or social ramifications. Conflicts of economic interest have social, political and moral causes and consequences. This book shows how economic and literary texts deal with similar subjects, and explores the ways in which economic ideas and metaphors shape literary texts, focusing on the analogies between economic theories and narrative structure in literature and drama. This volume also suggests that connecting literature and economics can help us find a common language to voice new, critical perspectives on crises and social change. Written by an impressive array of experts in their fields, Economics and Literature is an important read for those who study history of economic thought, economic theory and philosophy, as well as literary and critical theory.

The Vampire in Folklore, History, Literature, Film and Television

The Vampire in Folklore, History, Literature, Film and Television
Author:
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2015-09-18
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476620830

This comprehensive bibliography covers writings about vampires and related creatures from the 19th century to the present. More than 6,000 entries document the vampire's penetration of Western culture, from scholarly discourse, to popular culture, politics and cook books. Sections by topic list works covering various aspects, including general sources, folklore and history, vampires in literature, music and art, metaphorical vampires and the contemporary vampire community. Vampires from film and television--from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Twilight Saga--are well represented.

Monstrosity from the Inside Out

Monstrosity from the Inside Out
Author: Teresa Cutler-Broyles
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2019-01-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1848882246

Emerging from darkness, daring to take form and become something more than the Other, monsters stalk these pages, shifting form in true monstrous fashion as they inhabit literature and film, history and parallel communities modelled after our own. They become enmeshed in popular music, run rampant through cities, take androgynous form to rally for their own identities, their own futures, and their own families, and they hold up mirrors while we are caught shattering our sense of Self. Both the past and the future are rich fodder for the evil that monsters do, and from freak show to homunculus to serial killer to cyborg, they remind us that they are never far from sight - and that we cannot look away even if we wish to. Monstrosity from the Inside Out takes as the paradox that monsters are simultaneously impossible and very much a part of what it means to be human.

New York Fantastic

New York Fantastic
Author: Paula Guran
Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2017-11-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1597806366

An intriguing but insular man with telekinetic powers becomes New York City’s greatest superhero . . . A love affair blossoms between the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building . . . There are tunnels under New York that do not appear on any map . . . Being a Manhattan real estate broker for supernaturals is a real challenge . . . Editor and anthologist Paula Guran collects a diverse array of unusual and memorable tales set in the Big Apple, from a who’s-who of New York Times bestsellers and Hugo and Nebula Award-winning writers including George R. R. Martin, Peter Straub, Naomi Novik, Maria Dahvana Headley, Holly Black, and many more. Anyone who’s visited New York, New York knows what a “magical” place it is; these stories reveal just how marvelous, extraordinary, mysterious, and even occasionally eerie a truly fantastic city can be.

Dreamsongs: Volume II

Dreamsongs: Volume II
Author: George R. R. Martin
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 669
Release: 2007-11-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0553904345

Even before the enormous success of A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin had secured his reputation as one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. The second of two thrilling collections, Dreamsongs: Volume II continues the story of his amazing journey from a young writer to a #1 New York Times bestselling force of nature. Whether writing about werewolves, wizards, or outer space, George R. R. Martin is renowned for his versatility and expansive talent, as demonstrated in this dazzling collection. Dreamsongs: Volume II contains acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award winner “The Skin Trade,” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, The Hedge Knight—plus two early screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs: Volume II is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity—and an unforgettable reading experience for fans old and new. “Science fiction, fantasy and horror fans alike will be blown away by the diversity and quality of stories. . . . This extraordinary collection is one to cherish.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Dreamsongs is the ideal way to discover . . . a master of science fiction, fantasy and horror. . . . Martin is a writer like no other.”—The Guardian (U.K.) PRAISE FOR GEORGE R. R. MARTIN “Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best. In fact . . . this is as good a time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien.”—Time “Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times “I always expect the best from George R. R. Martin, and he always delivers.”—Robert Jordan

Japanese and American Horror

Japanese and American Horror
Author: Katarzyna Marak
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2014-11-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0786496665

Horror fiction is an important part of the popular culture in many modern societies. This book compares and contrasts horror narratives from two distinct cultures--American and Japanese--with a focus on the characteristic mechanisms that make them successful, and on their culturally-specific aspects. Including a number of narratives belonging to film, literature, comics and video games, this book provides a comprehensive perspective of the genre. It sheds light on the differences and similarities in the depiction of fear and horror in America and Japan, while emphasizing narrative patterns in the context of their respective cultures.