The Political Aspect of Literature: Criticism of a (Neo)conservative Community
| Název práce v češtině: | Politický aspekt literatury: kritika (neo)konzervativní komunity |
|---|---|
| Název v anglickém jazyce: | The Political Aspect of Literature: Criticism of a (Neo)conservative Community |
| Klíčová slova: | komunita|politika|neokonzervatismus|konzervatismus|autoritarismus|atavismus|dystopie|feminismus |
| Klíčová slova anglicky: | community|politics|neoconservatism|conservatism|authoritarianism|atavism|dystopia|feminism |
| Akademický rok vypsání: | 2016/2017 |
| Typ práce: | bakalářská práce |
| Jazyk práce: | angličtina |
| Ústav: | Ústav anglofonních literatur a kultur (21-UALK) |
| Vedoucí / školitel: | doc. Erik Sherman Roraback, D.Phil. |
| Řešitel: | skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd. |
| Datum přihlášení: | 21.06.2017 |
| Datum zadání: | 21.06.2017 |
| Schválení administrátorem: | zatím neschvalováno |
| Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: | 06.09.2017 |
| Datum a čas obhajoby: | 19.06.2018 00:00 |
| Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: | 21.05.2018 |
| Datum proběhlé obhajoby: | 19.06.2018 |
| Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: | odevzdaná studentem a finalizovaná |
| Oponenti: | Mgr. Pavla Veselá, Ph.D. |
| Zásady pro vypracování |
| The political aspect of literature, specifically fiction, has always provoked passionate discussions, both in the academia and in the mainstream media and pop culture. Avoiding politics might rob the literary works of their context and power, while reducing them to mere political manifestos denies these works their aesthetic qualities. One has to take into consideration the important fact that politics in the works of literature is crucially shaped by the reader and is thus beyond the author’s control. This paper boldly tries to examine the political aspect of literature, and the focus is narrowed down to novels that critically deal with the life in a neoconservative community; namely Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Ira Levin’s Stepford Wives. Other primary texts that share the same concern, which is the criticism of atavistic tendencies and allegedly restrictive conservative values and social norms, will be discussed as well: for instance Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, or Edith Wharton’s novels. The analysis of how these atavistic communities are constructed in order to appear illiberal, undemocratic or even fascist requires research not only in the literary field, but also in philosophy, where the works of authors like Hannah Arendt or Theodor Adorno might be highly relevant. As politics in literature is vastly determined by the reader’s reception and subsequent interpretation, this initial research is justifiably succeeded by the inquiry into how the film and television adaptations have conveyed, misinterpreted or appropriated the “political message” of these particular literary works to suit their own agenda, either political or not. The result of my research should determine how the political aspect of the chosen novels functions not only in the context of the literary work as a whole, but also in the socio-political and cultural atmosphere in the United States. The conclusion might allude to a few thoughts on the desirability and role of politics in literature in general. |
| Seznam odborné literatury |
| Adorno, Theodor W. Aesthetic Theory. Translated by Christian Lenhart. Edited by Gretel Adorno and Rolf Tiedemann. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984. Adorno, Theodor W., et al. The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Norton, 1969. Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. San Diego: Harvest Book Harcourt, 1976. Giroux, Henry A. America on the Edge: Henry Giroux on Politics, Education, and Culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Esposito, Roberto. Communitas: The Origin and Destiny of Community. Translated by Timothy Campbell. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2010. Luhmann, Niklas. Art as a Social System. Translated by Eva M. Knodt. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2000. McKinnon, Catriona. Liberalism and the Defence of Political Constructivism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Myrsiades, Kostas, and Linda S. Myrsiades, eds. Un-Disciplining Literature: Literature, Law, and Culture. New York: Peter Lang, 1999. Nancy, Jean-Luc. Inoperative Community. Translated by Peter Connor, et al. Edited by Peter Connor. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Rancière, Jacques. Politics of Literature. Translated by Julie Rose. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011. Vidal, Gore. Armageddon? Essays 1983-1987. London: Deutsch, 1987. Žižek, Slavoj. Enjoy Your Symptom!: Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and Out. New York: Routledge, 2007. Žižek, Slavoj. The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology. London: Verso, 2008. |