postmodernism (literature)

"From the jaded, wired teenagers of M.T. Anderson's Feed to the spirited young rebels of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy, the protagonists of Young Adult dystopias are introducing a new generation of readers to the pleasures and challenges of dystopian imaginings. As the dark universes of YA dystopias continue to flood the market, Contemporary Dystopian Fiction for Young Adults: Brave New Teenagers offers a critical evaluation of the literary and political potentials of this widespread publishing phenomenon. With its capacity to frighten and warn, dystopian writing powerfully engages with our pressing global concerns: liberty and self-determination, environmental destruction and looming catastrophe, questions of identity and justice, and the increasingly fragile boundaries between technology and the self. When directed at young readers, these dystopian warnings are distilled into exciting adventures with gripping plots and accessible messages that may have the potential to motivate a generation on the cusp of adulthood. This collection enacts a lively debate about the goals and efficacy of YA dystopias, with three major areas of contention: do these texts reinscribe an old didacticism or offer an exciting new frontier in children's literature? Do their political critiques represent conservative or radical ideologies? And finally, are these novels high-minded attempts to educate the young or simply bids to cash in on a formula for commercial success? This collection represents a prismatic and evolving understanding of the genre, illuminating its relevance to children's literature and our wider culture.".

A collection of essays about American novelist, essayist, and short story writer David Foster Wallace.

Examines the moral and philosophical underpinnings of Kurt Vonnegut's postmodern fiction and its ongoing appeal to readers.

Discusses theories of postmodernism, feminism, and postcolonialism in relation to Japanese literature and analyses the fictional and critical works of four twentieth- and twenty-first-century Japanese writers--Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana, Yoshimoto Takaaki, and Karatani K?jin.

Explores how Kurt Vonnegut's work was influenced by various forces in American life, including the Great Depression, World War II, postwar America, the entrepreneurship of the 1950s, and the countercultural revolt of the 1960s.

Explores how Romantic and mid-twentieth-century American poets have struggled to represent a sincere self-consciousness through their work.

This volume introduces literary contexts as they apply to novels written since 1960 by American and Canadian authors, offering students a working foundation of literary context. Essays on 37 notable post-modernist novels include detailed plot synopsis and main characters, along with symbols and motifs, historical, societal, religious, scientific and technological, and biographical context, and end with discussion questions and essay ideas. The content of the book is also available ONLINE through the Schroeder Library's databases.

An anthology of essays on postmodernism, presenting an overview of the genre, looking at the different types of postmodernism, examining specific postmodern works and their authors, and including criticisms of postmodern theory.