Walter Hölbling

Arno Heller

Waldemar Zacharasiewicz

Utopian Thought in American Literature

"Identity is one of the central cultural narratives of the US on which both dominant and resistant discourses draw. This critical anthology honors the topic's diversity while concentrating on one central aspect, that of newness. Construction of identities, their invention, reinvention and reformulation are discussed within four thematic categories: New Concepts and Reconsiderations, Migration and Multiple Identities, Individuation and Privatized Identity Construction, and (Re-) Inventions and Virtual Identities. Written by European as well as U. S. scholars, ranging from the 19th century to the utopian future, from mainstream canonized figures to transgender performers, from a critique of individualism to a celebration of loneliness, the articles present a cross-section of current research on U.S. identities. "

New Identities in U.S. Culture

What is American?

Justine Tally

Theories and Texts, a guide written by students for students, explores the critical ideas of twelve of the most influential philosophers of the last 150 years - Marx, Freud, Bakhtin, Lacan, Derrida, Barthes, Foucault, Bhaba, as well as a variety of feminist critics (Kristeva & the French feminists, black feminists, and theological feminists), New Historicists, and Postcolonialists. Carefully "digested" and then set out in lucid and easily accessible language, these essays explain major ideas of each critical approach and exemplify them through practical application to one or more literary texts. At a time when "theory" is on everybody's lips and yet is often more of a deterrent than an attraction for students of literature and culture, these essays show how theories can enrich our understanding of literature, facilitate our analysis of a particular text, elucidate the multiple layers of meaning, and thus significantly enhance the juissance in our acts of reading.

Walter Hölbling

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