The Modernist Revolution in World Literature

ISSN: 1528-9672

In the stormy time period approximately between the Paris Commune in 1871 and the revolutionary events in May 1968, or between the conclusion of the American Civil War and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the rise and fall of international modernism was crucial to all historical, political, and intellectual de-velopments around the world. By the time the United States had emerged from its military involvement in Indo-China, the modernist movement had given way to postmodernism. This series investigates the development of international modern-ism in the half century leading up to World War I and its disintegration in the fol-lowing fifty years. High modernism claimed that it represented a break with corrupt values of previous cultural traditions, but we now think that this very drive to “make it new” is itself derivative. What are the roots and characteristics of modernism? How did the philosophical and pedagogical system supporting modernism develop? Is mod-ernism, perhaps, not a liberating movement but a device to shield high culture from rising democratic vulgarization? What is the role of modernism in postcolonial struggles? Where does feminism fall in the modernist agenda? How do changing systems of patronage and the economy of art influence modernism as an enor-mously expanded reading public becomes augmented by cinema, radio, and televi-sion? Such questions on a worldwide stage, in the century approximately from 1870 to 1970, in all manifestations of literature, art, politics, and culture, represent the scope of this series In the stormy time period approximately between the Paris Commune in 1871 and the revolutionary events in May 1968, or between the conclusion of the American Civil War and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the rise and fall of international modernism was crucial to all historical, political, and intellectual de-velopments around the world. By the time the United States had emerged from its military involvement in Indo-China, the modernist movement had given way to postmodernism. This series investigates the development of international modern-ism in the half century leading up to World War I and its disintegration in the fol-lowing fifty years. High modernism claimed that it represented a break with corrupt values of previous cultural traditions, but we now think that this very drive to “make it new” is itself derivative. What are the roots and characteristics of modernism? How did the philosophical and pedagogical system supporting modernism develop? Is mod-ernism, perhaps, not a liberating movement but a device to shield high culture from rising democratic vulgarization? What is the role of modernism in postcolonial struggles? Where does feminism fall in the modernist agenda? How do changing systems of patronage and the economy of art influence modernism as an enor-mously expanded reading public becomes augmented by cinema, radio, and televi-sion? Such questions on a worldwide stage, in the century approximately from 1870 to 1970, in all manifestations of literature, art, politics, and culture, represent the scope of this series In the stormy time period approximately between the Paris Commune in 1871 and the revolutionary events in May 1968, or between the conclusion of the American Civil War and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the rise and fall of international modernism was crucial to all historical, political, and intellectual de-velopments around the world. By the time the United States had emerged from its military involvement in Indo-China, the modernist movement had given way to postmodernism. This series investigates the development of international modern-ism in the half century leading up to World War I and its disintegration in the fol-lowing fifty years. High modernism claimed that it represented a break with corrupt values of previous cultural traditions, but we now think that this very drive to “make it new” is itself derivative. What are the roots and characteristics of modernism? How did the philosophical and pedagogical system supporting modernism develop? Is mod-ernism, perhaps, not a liberating movement but a device to shield high culture from rising democratic vulgarization? What is the role of modernism in postcolonial struggles? Where does feminism fall in the modernist agenda? How do changing systems of patronage and the economy of art influence modernism as an enor-mously expanded reading public becomes augmented by cinema, radio, and televi-sion? Such questions on a worldwide stage, in the century approximately from 1870 to 1970, in all manifestations of literature, art, politics, and culture, represent the scope of this series

3 publications

The Literature and Poetry of Exile

ISSN: 1077-0194

This series aims to publish literary and poetic texts, as well as studies, commentaries, and interpretations of the experiences and reactions to exile. The purpose of the series is to encourage responses to those enigmatic but essential questions: What is the meaning of exile? What imaginative and concrete imagery does it evoke? This series is committed to the belief that exile is a fundamental characteristic of our age and bears witness to its existential reality. We want this series to provide a forum for writers in exile and to make it possible for their voices to be heard.

1 publications

Modern Poetry

ISSN: 1661-2744

The Modern Poetry series brings together scholarly work on modern and contemporary poetry. As well as examining the sometimes neglected art of recent poetry, this series also sets modern poetry in the context of poetic history and in the context of other literary and artistic disciplines. Poetry has traditionally been considered the highest of the arts, but in our own time the scholarly tendency to treat literature as discourse or document sometimes threatens to obscure its specific vitalities. The Modern Poetry series aims to provide a platform for the full range of scholarly work on modern poetry, including work with an intercultural or interdisciplinary methodology. We invite submissions on all aspects of modern and contemporary poetry in English, and will also consider work on poetry in other language traditions. The series is non-dogmatic in its approach, and includes both mainstream and marginal topics. We are especially interested in work which brings new intellectual impetus to recognised areas (such as feminist poetry and linguistically innovative poetry) and also in work that makes a stimulating case for areas which are neglected.

12 publications

Studies in Modern Poetry

This series brings together book-length works on particular modern poets and twentieth-century movements as well as comparative and theoretical studies. Works in the series seek to explore the contributions of twentieth-century poets beyond the well-known major figures of Modernism such as Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot, in the belief that modern poetry is characterized by its variety, richness and scope. The series focuses on books which compare poetic projects from different national and linguistic traditions or explore the interconnections between poetic expression and the other arts. Authors whose critical approaches utilize contemporary literary theory and/or multicultural perspectives are especially encouraged to consider this series. Languages of the poetry studied include, but are not limited to, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, though the texts should be written in English and addressed to readers beyond strictly national or disciplinary boundaries.

18 publications