Bernd Engler Livres

'Key Concepts' in American Cultural History follows a twofold approach: It focuses on historical contexts that encompass central ideas and thoughts that are closely linked to particular epochs in American culture. It is furthermore based on the observation that, in spite of its diversity, American culture was and still is informed by a relatively limited set of ideas which are highly adaptable to new social and political situations. Thus, these ideas could be easily appropriated to individual and communal needs for orientation and sense-making in a world that dramatically changed while America developed from a colonial society to an industrialized world power. The fact that the number of the concepts that define American culture is quite restricted has proven to be an enormous advantage in the formation of an 'American ideology,' as the constant rearticulation of these concepts and their ensuing 'visibility' in the public sphere guaranteed wide-spread identification with the beliefs and cultural norms they represented and propagated. This anthology wants to encourage cross-segmental and diachronic readings that make the student aware of the continuities as well as simultaneous discontinuities of ideological 'formations' which are permanently 'reformed' in response to the changing functions they have to perform in order to promote beliefs by which cultures negotiate contesting interpretations of social reality.

G. Leypoldt introduces a collection examining literary and cultural icons. C. Spahr explores Anne Bradstreet’s literary genealogy as a “fashioned saint.” B. Engler discusses American literary nationalism and the cultural politics of de-nationalizing Shakespeare. A. Alliston and P. Schirmeister analyze James Fenimore Cooper’s reception both domestically and internationally. R. S. Levine highlights Frederick Douglass’s iconic “Little Book.” K. Benesch reflects on Thoreau’s iconicity in relation to place. D. Schulz portrays Ralph Waldo Emerson as a national saint. W. Grünzweig examines Walt Whitman’s Americanness within global culture. M. A. Snyder-Körber addresses sexual and textual iconicity from Henry James to queer interpretations. I. Klaiber investigates the creation of Black icons through Pauline E. Hopkins’ work. G. Hurm discusses James Dean’s rebellion as a post-war American icon. N. Gernalzick analyzes Madonna Ciccone’s performance art. S. Duda focuses on Andy Warhol’s sequences as an icon. P. Löffler critiques the iconization of Miles Davis within ethnic contexts. R. Bauer looks at Squanto’s role in American mythology. J. Stievermann examines Terrence Malick’s Pocahontas iconography. K. Fitz discusses George Washington and Israel Putnam as iconic yeoman farmers. F. Obenland explores Napoleon’s political iconicity in early America. O. Scheiding analyzes Washington Irving’s portrayal of the Indian chief as a Federalist ic

Die Klassiker der englischsprachigen Weltliteratur in einem Band. Leben, Werk und Wirken von Austen, Beckett, Coetzee, Joyce, Lessing, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Wilde u. v. a. werden in 113 lebendigen Essays vorgestellt. Eine Fundgrube für Lesehungrige.

Vielfalt und Multikulturalität. Das Lexikon zeigt die US-amerikanische Literatur in 350 Porträts repräsentativer Autorinnen und Autoren und ihrer Werke. Dabei liefert es einen Überblick über die außergewöhnlich vielfältige Literatur der Vereinigten Staaten von der Kolonialzeit bis zur unmittelbaren Gegenwart.