Down and Out: a Novel

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Down and Out: a Novel DOWN AND OUT: A NOVEL J. Andrew Briseño Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2015 APPROVED: Miroslav Penkov, Major Professor Javier Rodriguez, Committee Member John Tait, Committee Member Jack Peters, Interim Chair of the Department of English Costas Tsatsoulis, Interim Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Briseño, J. Andrew. Down and Out: A Novel. Doctor of Philosophy (English), May 2015, 299 pp., references, 8 titles. A creative dissertation consisting of two parts: a novel and a critical preface. The critical preface, titled “Novel without Falsehood” deals directly with David Shields’s Reality Hunger, touching on issues of reality as it pertains to truth, writing, fiction, and contemporary culture. The novel is entitled Down and Out and follows the fortunes of a small town in Arkansas before, during, and after its sole source of employment ceases to exist. Copyright 2015 by J. Andrew Briseño ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART I NOVEL WITHOUT FALSEHOOD: REALITY HUNGER AS ART AND CONCEPT ........................................................................................................................................ 1 Works Cited ........................................................................................................ 28 PART II DOWN AND OUT: A NOVEL ........................................................................... 29 Pilot .................................................................................................................... 30 Season 1, Episode 2: Queen City of the Mountain .................................. 42 Season 1: Episode 3: The Greatest Daddy in Logan County ................... 56 Season 1, Episode 4: Everything Will Be Alright ...................................... 75 Season 1, Episode 5: The Date .............................................................. 83 Season 1, Episode 6: Steve Lynch: Fish Master...................................... 96 Season 1: Episode 7: The Anniversary Miracle ..................................... 106 Season 1, Episode 8: Fr. William and the Fire Sermon ......................... 120 Season 1, Episode 9: Thanksgiving ....................................................... 133 Season 1: Episode 10: It’s a Wonderful Town ........................................ 142 Season II: An Old Hope .................................................................................... 155 Renewal ................................................................................................. 155 Season 2, Episode 2: Down 'N' Out at the Pawn Shop .......................... 167 Season 2, Episode 3: The Fishmaster Goes on Tour ............................. 179 Season 2, Episode 4: Martin’s Resume ................................................. 187 Season 2, Episode 5: Keeping On ........................................................ 195 Season 2, Episode 6: Sweeps ............................................................... 201 Season 2, Episode 7: The Gun on Stage ............................................... 212 Season 2 Episode 8: The Gun on Stage Part 2 ..................................... 221 Season 2 Episode 9 The Shot Heard Down the Road ........................... 237 Season 2, Episode 10: You Can Never Go Back ................................... 249 Season 2, Episode 11: Right in the Eye ................................................. 258 Season 2, Episode 12: It Means the End of a Thing .............................. 270 Season 2, Episode 13: Aftermath .......................................................... 289 iii PART I NOVEL WITHOUT FALSEHOOD: REALITY HUNGER AS ART AND CONCEPT 1 “The novel is dead. Long live the anti-novel, built from scraps” (327.115)1. So writes David Shields in his manifesto Reality Hunger. When I first read these words I was ready to fight over it, largely because at that point I had only recently realized that the project I'd been working on would become my first novel, and thus also this—my dissertation. Even before I had finished reading Reality Hunger, I was planning to use this preface to wage that war, to directly address Shields's arrogant declarations and to prove him wrong by force of logic and example. And yet now, writing that preface, I find that my relationship to Reality Hunger has evolved. I no longer want to fight David Shields, and I'm not even sure that I can or even should try to prove him wrong. In reading and rereading this text in preparation for writing this preface, I found that close study of Reality Hunger led me to reconsider the book entirely. The subtitle asks us to consider this as a manifesto, but I argue it to be something altogether different and surprising. To explain this argument, I first have to explain the book which is no easy task. Reality Hunger proves impossible to pin down. The book is divided into 26 chapters labeled a through z and each chapter is in turn divided into subsections of varying length. The majority but by no means all of these subsections are not originally Shields's words; rather they are brought together from a huge variety of sources including other literary theorists, journalists, philosophers, comedians, movies, misremembered conversations—in short from everywhere. These varied fragments quite often contradict or counteract each other. For instance, in one section Shields 1 Reality Hunger is broken up into hundreds of small sections; I will use these section numbers as well as page numbers throughout in the format (section.page). 2 writes “The novel isn't dead,” contradicting the quote with which I began (56.22). He claims that fiction and nonfiction are essentially the same thing in sections 3 and 31 only to assert that nonfiction writing is a superior evolved form of writing in sections 65, 133, 180 and elsewhere. Beyond such direct contradictions his collage format means that there are no single definitions for words like truth, fiction, nonfiction, reality, documentary, etc. This means that to address this unconventional work will require an unconventional approach in several ways. I mean to discuss Reality Hunger and the issues it brings up in an organic manner; that is, to begin with analyzing the text itself in more depth and to let findings of that analysis suggest how best to proceed from there. In so doing, I hope to more accurately frame and describe Reality Hunger, to thus be able to suggest what this book means in terms of writing generally and the novel specifically. In the end I plan to connect these thoughts to my own novel which this preface is meant to introduce. To read Reality Hunger is to be confused or rather to accept a certain baseline level of confusion as normal. The sections do not flow together so much as cast shadows against one another, creating meaning from their juxtaposition as much as from their content. There are no transitions and no attempt to make them. Each section is themed but not unified. An example: 53 Suddenly everyone's tale is tellable, which seems to me a good thing, even if not everyone's story turns out to be fascinating or well told. 54 Plot is a way to stage and dramatize reality, but when the presentation is too obviously formulaic, as it so often is, the reality is perceived as false. Skeptical of the desperation of the modernist embrace of art as the only solution, and 3 hyperaware of all artifices of genre and form, we nevertheless seek new means of creating the real. 55 Barbara Kruger was a painter, but her day job was photo editor at Glamour. One day she could no longer tolerate the divide between the two activities, and her artwork became the captioning of photos. 56 Painting isn't dead. The novel isn't dead. They just aren't as central to the culture as they once were. (22) In a single page, Shields discusses plot, the growing story-telling agency of contemporary society, a photo editor at Glamour and the current state of painting and the novel. Certainly there are connections to be drawn here; the first passage's assertion of the benefit that more stories are tellable, when considered in light of the second passage's claim that we are seeking the real while becoming wary of the artifice of plot seem to suggest that art should (and does) spring from everywhere as a natural response to the decoupling of novels (and presumably other fictions) and “the culture.” Perhaps like Barbara Kruger, the new artists will make their life their art. Yet at the same time it could be that Barbara Kruger is an example of a story that is not fascinating or well told, that her art of captioning of photos in Glamour is meant to exemplify the consequences of everyone telling their story. Or it could be that the brief narrative about Kruger is meant to demonstrate the exhaustion of plot discussed right before it, a quick example of how unbelievable all stories sound. In any case, the meaning that is built from reading this section is variable and requires interpretation. Like every collage, it depends on implied connections in the mind of the audience that the author likely never imagined. And of course this is one page from one section, meaning that to truly interpret this short passage we should 4 certainly consider the passages immediately before and after and the ones next to those, and on and on. Thus to try to argue against Reality Hunger is either to argue only against a gerrymandered sliver of the text or to argue against one's own interpretation of the text as a whole. This led me to reconsider the book and how it is meant to function. In so doing,
Recommended publications
  • The Ursinus Weekly, December 10, 1956
    Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College Ursinus Weekly Newspaper Newspapers 12-10-1956 The rsinU us Weekly, December 10, 1956 Lawrence C. Foard Ursinus College Ismar Schorsch Ursinus College Arthur King Ursinus College Thomas M. McCabe Ursinus College Ann Leger Ursinus College See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly Part of the Cultural History Commons, Higher Education Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Foard, Lawrence C.; Schorsch, Ismar; King, Arthur; McCabe, Thomas M.; Leger, Ann; MacGregor, Bruce; Blood, Richard; and Rybak, Warren, "The rU sinus Weekly, December 10, 1956" (1956). Ursinus Weekly Newspaper. 418. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/418 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Newspapers at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ursinus Weekly Newspaper by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Lawrence C. Foard, Ismar Schorsch, Arthur King, Thomas M. McCabe, Ann Leger, Bruce MacGregor, Richard Blood, and Warren Rybak This book is available at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/418 LATE RELEASE: CHRISTMAS BANQUET J "WHO'S WHO" AND BALL WEDNESDAY EVENING reId!, SEE PAGE 4 Price, Ten Cents ~_I._5_~_N_O._8 ________________________- __MONDA~ DECE~ER 10, 1956 Christmas Parties "Morning Wateh"" Nineteenth Annual "Messiah" "y"" Groups Hear IAnnual Christmas For Children Given To Be Held by SWC Two SpeakersWed.
    [Show full text]
  • '-L? Ч ¿X^Ic.*Isi Iéí.55.3?£ If:.Y •5:И';:Гй^*'1Г І I ,/R Ί^··^^·;:*^Ϊ··':·'·':>7
    S'-Ё’ psijL áí. pj: SÎÆ, :? i'“: ï ïf* гГтл c'rL '^ · ’’V^ í‘j ’**·* :?S. »>и·. i*». «- * Ь y I m ·^ · ^i:¡y?'íT*ü i^Ä W-Ä .,;í¿· ■» ·,· fiS}*«,' -jii Ц İ>4ÇJ ..j«. "'* ;»!·Γ“ Ц ^ «*»?*;·»/ ц‘•■W st-tïw . f'Tf'Y Λ а d ^ ÎL ^tewolM vs î! S >^*;·IfİflMpriilbt“ 4sj:'· C t : äi« 5 ¿Й ii ' . ¿ İ l ç j Y І^Ш ТУ;гГ .■"■ ! ■ !5 .’! t - =< ■ -t«, ,., ψ : r, ■ Jü'S s; - ÿ : : . іЗ^ CS 'mİ ir¿;ííí é « :і.мгж? ■i::'^r.r‘;íK f. · ’ '?’’.‘f ’V '"'^^'Γ:!·’!·^ ·~ І;4^-й.:ГѵГ:5;с J^1й:5.;*ií·:|'·^* lч d .v W *· , ‘-? ■ ¿X^ic.*iSi iéí.55.3?£ í s í * ’· ·■ ^ ■ ЛМт.^'' é·**»!·4(¡ff· „.--.·;·^« .JJ, g. ψ·’;· ^ if:.Y ■•5:И';:Гй^*‘1г І I W 'ill · äi-3':» і»£'лгіт;ьѵй-г·) ·«»■. ·α..ί í¡ %' Ím^í », i.]«·« îi» ' ,/r ί^··^^·;:*^Ϊ··':·'·':>7;^·»;: : -^l·· H; 'J ^ С '' ' THE CARNIVALESQUE IN BEN JONSON’S THREE CITY COMEDIES VOLPONE, THE ALCHEMIST m iy BARTHOLOMEW FAIR A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Letters of Bilkent University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature G-Ûİ Kur+uLt^ by Gül Kurtuluş April, 1997 Ι62ζ •kSf- I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature. Assoc. Prof Ünal Norman (Committee Member) I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Hannah Barnard
    january 1996 Quaker Thought FRIENDS and Life OURNAL Today J>E(; J>IIILLIJ>S 0:'\ .\RT, .\CTI\.IS\1, A:'\D JOY • 11.\:'\:'\.\11 B.\R:'\.\RD: A LIBER.\L Ql .\KER IIERO Editor-Manager Among Friends Vinton Deming Associate Editor Kenneth Sutton Confronting Militaristn Assistant Editor Timothy Drake Art Director n mid-November the men's group of my meeting cosponsored a discussion with Barbara Benton three Latin American COs actively opposing militarism in their countries. They Production Assistant were traveling with Raymond J. Toney, staff member for the National Alia Podolsky I Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors (NISBCO). A potluck Development Consultant Henry Freeman supper brought 25 or so Philadelphia-area Friends together for a first-hand report on Marketing and Advertising Manager militarism in Chile, Colombia, and Honduras. Nagendran Gulendran Luis Cardenas, a Chilean Mennonite, has been active with a regional human Secretary Cheryl Armstrong rights organization addressing the issue of conscientious objection. Luis reports that Bookkeeper there is very little church support in Chile for the CO position. He has helped to form James Neveil a CO network within Chile and seeks to expand it to other countries as well. Poetry Editor Ricardo Pinzon, from Colombia, started working with COs there about six years Judith Brown ago, helping to form an organization committed to nonviolence. Like Luis, Ricardo Development Data Entry Pamela Nelson wants to exert pressure on his government to recognize the CO position. Currently Intern there is no option in Colombia for an individual acting out of conscience to do Cat Buckley alternative service.
    [Show full text]
  • The Drama in Disguise: Dramatic Modes of Narration and Textual Structure in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel
    The Drama in Disguise: Dramatic Modes of Narration and Textual Structure in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel by Kathleen Cameron Wiggins A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Irina Paperno Professor Luba Golburt Lecturer Anna Muza Professor Peter Glazer Fall 2011 The Drama in Disguise: Dramatic Modes of Narration and Textual Structure in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel Copyright 2011 by Kathleen Cameron Wiggins 1 Abstract The Drama in Disguise: Dramatic Modes of Narration and Textual Structure in the Mid- Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel By Kathleen Cameron Wiggins Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures University of California, Berkeley Professor Irina Paperno, Chair My dissertation investigates the generic interplay between the textual forms of drama and the novel during the 1850s, a fertile “middle ground” for the Russian novel, positioned between the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, and Gogol and the psychological realist novel of the 1860s and 70s. My study begins with Turgenev’s Rudin (1856) and then considers Goncharov’s Oblomov (1859) and Dostoevsky’s Siberian novellas (1859), concluding with an examination of how the use of drama evolved in one of the “great novels” of the 1860s, Tolstoy’s Voina i mir ( War and Peace , 1865-69). Drawing upon both novel and drama theory, my dissertation seeks to identify the specific elements of the dramatic form employed by these nineteenth-century novelists, including dramatic dialogue and gesture, construction of enclosed stage-like spaces, patterns of movement and stasis, expository strategies, and character and plot construction.
    [Show full text]
  • The Plumed Serpant
    The Plumed Serpant D H Lawrence Chapter 1 - Beginnings Of A Bull-Fight It was the Sunday after Easter, and the last bull-fight of the season in Mexico City. Four special bulls had been brought over from Spain for the occasion, since Spanish bulls are more fiery than Mexican. Perhaps it is the altitude, perhaps just the spirit of the western Continent which is to blame for the lack of 'pep', as Owen put it, in the native animal. Although Owen, who was a great socialist, disapproved of bull- fights, 'We have never seen one. We shall have to go,' he said. 'Oh yes, I think we must see it,' said Kate. 'And it's our last chance,' said Owen. Away he rushed to the place where they sold tickets, to book seats, and Kate went with him. As she came into the street, her heart sank. It was as if some little person inside her were sulking and resisting. Neither she nor Owen spoke much Spanish, there was a fluster at the ticket place, and an unpleasant individual came forward to talk American for them. It was obvious they ought to buy tickets for the 'Shade.' But they wanted to economize, and Owen said he preferred to sit among the crowd, therefore, against the resistance of the ticket man and the onlookers, they bought reserved seats in the 'Sun.' The show was on Sunday afternoon. All the tram-cars and the frightful little Ford omnibuses called camions were labelled Torero, and were surging away towards Chapultepec. Kate felt that sudden dark feeling, that she didn't want to go.
    [Show full text]
  • Japonisme and Permanence in Art Pottery
    Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2015 Bracquemond, Ruskin, the Haviland-Hayes Service, and Rookwood: Japonisme and Permanence in Art Pottery Emily G. Campbell Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the American Art and Architecture Commons, and the Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3771 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Emily G. Campbell 2015 All Rights Reserved Bracquemond, Ruskin, the Haviland-Hayes Service, and Rookwood: Japonisme and Permanence in Art Pottery A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University By Emily G. Campbell B.A., Art History and Modern Foreign Language, Italian James Madison University, 2013 Director: Dr. Charles Brownell Professor, Department of Art History Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia April, 2015 ii Acknowledgements There are several people that I wish to thank. First of all, this thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and support of Dr. Charles Brownell. Thank you for introducing me to decorative arts, especially Art Pottery, and for sharing many years of your research with me. I would like to thank Tim Sublette and Mark Brown for sharing their extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for ceramics.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S. NRC Assessment of Emergency Response Planning and Implementation for Large Scale Evacuations
    ~U PTJI~CNUREG/CR-69810S0 SAN D2008-1776P United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission ProtectingPeople and the Environment ým~s an 'a fa ir~ Lairge Sca~a Ewacua~inss Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response AVAILABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS IN NRC PUBLICATIONS NRC Reference Material Non-NRC Reference Material As of November 1999, you may electronically access Documents available from public and special technical NUREG-series publications and other NRC records at libraries include all open literature items, such as NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at books, journal articles, and transactions, Federal http://www.nrc..ov/readinq-rm.html. Publicly released Registernotices, Federal and State legislation, and records include, to name a few, NUREG-series congressional reports. Such documents as theses, publications; FederalRegister notices; applicant, dissertations, foreign reports and translations, and licensee, and vendor documents and correspondence; non-NRC conference proceedings may be purchased NRC correspondence and internal memoranda; from their sponsoring organization. .bulletins and information notices; inspection and investigative reports; licensee event reports; and Copies of industry codes and standards used in a ,Cormmission papers and their attachments. substantive manner in the NRC regulatory process are maintained at- NRC publications in the NUREG series, NRC The NRC Technical Library regulations, and Title 10, Energy, in the Code of Two White Flint North FederalRegulations may also be purchased from one 11545 Rockville Pike of these two sources. Rockville, MD 20852-2738 1. The Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office These standards are available in the library for Mail Stop SSOP reference use by the public. Codes and standards are Washington, DC 20402-0001 usually copyrighted and may be purchased from the Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov originating organization or, if they are American Telephone: 202-512-1800 National Standards, from- Fax: 202-512-2250 American National Standards Institute 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes and Activities on the Short Stories of Crichton Smith
    Image Copyright:- Scottish Political Archive Contents 1. The Telegram P. 4 The Telegram Revision Questions P. 13 2. Home P. 25 3. The Red Door P. 32 The Red Door Revision Questions P. 38 4. Mother and Son P. 50 Mother and Son Revision Questions P. 54 Iain Crichton Smith’s The Red Door Stories - Refreshed List Detailed Analysis The Telegram From “The Red Door” by Iain Crichton Smith two of the villagers, it is likely every villager is Published by Birlinn Ltd watching the elder and hoping it is not their door he is heading for. As it turns out, this telegram is not for any of the villagers. The Community:- Telegrams:- This short story, which is set during World War Two, is entitled “The Telegram.” A telegram was a message sent by telegraph and then delivered in written or printed form. Although there were a variety of colours for such documents, the Although Iain Crichton Smith was born in military used yellow paper for their telegrams. Glasgow, he moved to the island of Lewis at That is why, on P. 212 - when the women see the the age of two. There he spent much of his time yellow piece of paper Macleod is carrying - they in the crofting village of Bayble. The village know he is carrying a telegram for one of the in the story is unnamed, however it is likely to villagers. And therefore they know someone’s have some resemblance to Bayble. Above is a son or husband has been killed. Above is an modern image of the view from upper Bayble, example of such a telegram and because it is where Iain Crichton Smith lived.
    [Show full text]
  • The Patriot 32
    Newsletter of The John Hampden Society No. 32 - Summer 2002 The John Hampden Society exists to bring together people with an interest in John Hampden, and to encourage wider knowledge of this great 17th century Parliamentarian, his life and times SPECIAL GRAMPOUND ISSUE n Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd sent another which I had affixed, but there OSeptember 2001, the Society unveiled were wrinkles in it which I hoped their two plaques in Grampound, Cornwall to expertise could remove. They couldn’t mark the fact that this had been John without producing a new graphic, but they Hampden’s first Parliamentary seat in lent me a tool which should do the trick, 1621. The following is a diary of the and instructed me on the correct way to week’s activities, written jointly by Event roll the banner. Organiser Graham Barfield and Vice- Lunch was at a very good country pub Chairman Roy Bailey. near Axminster located down some of the narrowest Devon lanes I had ever negoti- ated, and a later stop was at Launceston, just into Cornwall, where I bought a wire Monday 27th August. Seal of the Ancient Borough of Grampound with Creed brush, some steel wool and a bottle of deruster to deal with the tarnished halberd G.B. Not an ideal day to start travelling - a wreath of flowers, and Tim Oliver’s hal- heads. Bank Holiday - but ever since falling asleep berds. The latter just fitted into the vehicle and ditching and writing off my car near diagonally, and everything else went on I reached Grampound at about 5.30 pm Winslow whilst driving to address a Chil- top.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social Significance of the Modern Drama
    The Social Significance Of The Modern Drama By Emma Goldman The Social Significance Of The Modern Drama HENRIK IBSEN In a letter to George Brandes, shortly after the Paris Commune, Henrik Ibsen wrote concerning the State and political liberty: "The State is the curse of the individual. How has the national strength of Prussia been purchased? By the sinking of the individual in a political and geographical formula.... The State must go! That will be a revolution which will find me on its side. Undermine the idea of the State, set up in its place spontaneous action, and the idea that spiritual relationship is the only thing that makes for unity, and you will start the elements of a liberty which will be something worth possessing." The State was not the only bête noire of Henrik Ibsen. Every other institution which, like the State, rests upon a lie, was an iniquity to him. Uncompromising demolisher of all false idols and dynamiter of all social shams and hypocrisy, Ibsen consistently strove to uproot every stone of our social structure. Above all did he thunder his fiery indictment against the four cardinal sins of modern society: the Lie inherent in our social arrangements; Sacrifice and Duty, the twin curses that fetter the spirit of man; the narrow-mindedness and pettiness of Provincialism, that stifles all growth; and the Lack of Joy and Purpose in Work which turns life into a vale of misery and tears. So strongly did Ibsen feel on these matters, that in none of his works did he lose sight of them.
    [Show full text]
  • Literariness.Org-Beatrix-Hesse-Auth
    Crime Files Series General Editor: Clive Bloom Since its invention in the nineteenth century, detective fi ction has never been more popular. In novels, short stories, fi lms, radio, television and now in computer games, private detectives and psychopaths, prim poisoners and overworked cops, tommy gun gangsters and cocaine criminals are the very stuff of modern imagination, and their creators one mainstay of popular consciousness. Crime Files is a ground- breaking series offering scholars, students and discerning readers a comprehensive set of guides to the world of crime and detective fi ction. Every aspect of crime writing, detective fi ction, gangster movie, true- crime exposé, police procedural and post- colonial investigation is explored through clear and informative texts offering comprehensive coverage and theoretical sophistication. Titles include: Maurizio Ascari A COUNTER- HISTORY OF CRIME FICTION Supernatural, Gothic, Sensational Pamela Bedore DIME NOVELS AND THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN DETECTIVE FICTION Hans Bertens and Theo D’haen CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CRIME FICTION Anita Biressi CRIME, FEAR AND THE LAW IN TRUE CRIME STORIES Clare Clarke LATE VICTORIAN CRIME FICTION IN THE SHADOWS OF SHERLOCK Paul Cobley THE AMERICAN THRILLER Generic Innovation and Social Change in the 1970s Michael Cook DETECTIVE FICTION AND THE GHOST STORY The Haunted Text Michael Cook NARRATIVES OF ENCLOSURE IN DETECTIVE FICTION The Locked Room Mystery Barry Forshaw BRITISH CRIME FILM Subverting the Social Order Barry Forshaw DEATH IN A COLD CLIMATE A Guide to Scandinavian
    [Show full text]
  • Introducing Moral Philosophy Dr
    Introducing Moral Philosophy Dr. Clea F. Rees Canolfan Addysg Gydol Oes Centre for Lifelong Learning Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University This packet contains copies of most of the handouts we are likely to be using in class and most of the materials you will need in order to attempt assessment. Most of the materials are grouped topically with some general items at the back and a copy of the syllabus at the front. Distributing these materials as a packet is an experiment — usually I give these out at the appropriate points as the course proceeds. I would therefore be very interested in your thoughts about this method. ©4234 Clea F. Rees. Cardiff University PHI11A3250A Introducing Moral Philosophy Dr. Clea F. Rees Spring 2012 Humanities 1.40 W 14:00–16:00 029 2087 0000 Humanities 0.01 [email protected] http://cfrees.wordpress.com/imp-s2012/ Course Description: What makes an action right? How should one live? What kind of person should one be? How are individual morality and social justice connected? Ethical theory can inform our understanding of moral issues and relationships. This course introduces students to a variety of topics in both theoretical and applied ethics, focusing primarily on ideas from the western analytic tradition. No previous knowledge of philosophy is assumed. Topics may include: ethical relativism • moral character and right action • major ethical theories: • — consequentialism/utilitarianism — deontological/Kantian ethics — virtue ethics social justice • resistance and respect • moral psychology • feminist ethics • particular social or political issues • The course draws on examples from fiction and non-fiction to illustrate the theoretical positions discussed and students are encouraged to draw further examples from their own experience.
    [Show full text]