Empire for liberty melville and the poetics of individualism

The cambridge history of the american novel edited by. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton up, 1989, residues of justice. The terms individualism and community are open to shifting, sometimes contradictory interpretations. Wai chee dimock is william lampson professor of english and american studies at yale university. Buell views nineteenth century american literature as postcolonial.

Melville and the poetics of individualism 1989 and. She challenges our customary view by demonstrating a link between the individualism that enabled melville to write as a sovereign author and the nationalism that allowed america to grow into what jefferson hoped would be an empire. Melville and the poetics of individualism 9780691015095. The apprehension of fraud in american legal culture power. Henry david thoreaus 18171862 individualism, for example, is at odds with the dominant economic individualism of his period, just as the individualism of herman melvilles 18191891 captain ahab is different from ishmaels in mobydick 1851. Levine university of maryland, college park european revolutions and the american literary renaissance. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Wai chee dimock, william lampson professor of english and american studies at yale university, has written widely on american.

T he terms empire of liberty and empire for liberty were famously coined by thomas jefferson to characterize americas nationhood. By this time he was an outcast, a failed literary man. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton. Through other continents by wai chee dimock overdrive. This ambitious literary history traces the american novel from its emergence in the late eighteenth century to its diverse incarnations in the multiethnic, multimedia culture of the present day.

At its october meeting, the mla executive council appointed wai chee dimock, william lampson professor of english and american studies at yale university, to serve as the next editor of pmla. Major exponents of the theme have been abraham lincoln in the gettysburg address, theodore roosevelt. Sale for empire of liberty the empire of liberty the. Melville and the poetics of individualism 1989,rethinking class. In this arresting book, wai chee dimock takes on the philosophical tradition from kant to rawls, challenging its conception of justice as foundational, selfevident, and allencompassing. The herman melville correspondence of clare spark and paul metcalf, 1991 edited and annotated by paul metcalf. She challenges our customary view by demonstrating a link. His masterpiece, mobydick only five years old, was already gathering dust.

Richard poirier, editor, raritan quarterly show more. Wai chee dimock approaches herman melville not as a timeless genius, but as a historical figure caught in the politics of an imperial nation and an imperial self. Empire of liberty available for download and read online in other formats. Melville and the poetics of individualism wai chee dimock wai chee dimock approaches herman melville not as a timeless genius, but as a historical figure caught in the politics of an imperial nation and an imperial self. While melvilles other works expressed fears that increased u. Wai chee dimock, william lampson professor of english and american studies at yale university, has written widely on american literature. Melville in the wake of mobydick university of alabama press, 1995.

Dimock, who in her empire for liberty reaches back to. A by elizabeth ammons 4 copies individualism and its discontents. The essays have been specially commissioned for this volume and provide a complete overview of melvilles career. Melville and the poetics of individualism bibliographic details. Since its inception, american literature al has been regarded as the preeminent periodical in its field. Melville and the poetics of individualism, princeton, princeton u p, 1989, p. The rhetoric of humor in the american renaissance oxford university press, 1993.

She is especially concerned with the relation of literature to law, philosophy and the history of science. A field day company book introduced by seamus deane. Warren 5 copies tricksterism in turnofthecentury american literature. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton and residues of justice. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton university press, 1991, was greeted by library of america cofounder richard poirier as one of the most important studies of melville to appear in many years. The great art of telling the truth, baltimore, johns hopkins. She challenges our customary view by demonstrating a link between the individualism that enabled melville to write as a sovereign author and the nationalism that allowed america to grow into what jefferson hoped would be an empire for liberty. See all 4 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. She challenges our customary view by demonstrating a link between the individualism that enabled melville to write as a sovereign author and the nationalism that allowed america to grow. Literature, law, philosophy u of california p, 1996. Subsequent books were critical and commercial disasters. Wai chee dimock has written on american literature of every period, from anne bradstreet to star trek.

Empire of liberty a history of the early republic 1789 1815 signed edition empire of liberty. His work was a response, though often in a negative or ambivalent way, to the romantic movement that dominated american literature 1 in the mid19th century. An interview with wai chee dimock duke university press. Wai chee dimock approaches herman melville not as a timeless genius, but as a.

Melvilles typee as a portrait of colonial representation. She argues for a broad conception of literature, embracing a variety of time frames, bringing together materials both high and low, and scales both local and global. Melville and the poetics of individualism 1989, examined how melville portrayed individualism in terms of. Melville and the poetics of individualism paperback february 21, 1991 by waichee dimock author. The empire of liberty is a theme developed first by thomas jefferson to identify the responsibility of the united states to spread freedom across the world. In 1856, melville, alone, made his way to the deserts of egypt and palestine. Voyages, 1970 selected and with a commentary by stanley hendricks family correspondence of herman melville, 18301904, in the gansevoortlansing collection 1976 edited by victor hugo paltsits enter isabel. Melvilles major novels are discussed, along with a range of his short. Her term begins in july 2016 and runs for three years. Buell suggests that melvilles writings reflect a postcolonial anxiety and consciousness of two audiences the colonial and the native similar to that of writers. Literary studies and social formations 1994, residues of justice. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Melville and the poetics of individualism and residues of justice. The article explores herman melvilles use of allegory in the critique of american expansionism in his novel pierre.

Literature, law, philosophy university of california press, 1996, and through other continents. Literature, law, philosophy 1996, and shades of the planet. Pdf empire of liberty download full pdf book download. Herman melville american author herman melville 18191891 is best known for his novel mobydick. Empire for liberty is one of the most important studies of melville to appear in many years and it sets the terms for critical debate about his work for many years ahead. Allegorical structures encoded in this text are identified through references to thomas coles cycle of manifestly allegorical paintings entitled the course of empire. The new cambridge companion to herman melville edited by. Melville and the poetics of by wai chee dimock 16 copies the american narcissus. Project muse colonialism and melvilles south seas journeys. Quentin anderson for some of her formulations, speaks of. Melville and the poetics of individualism 1989, but would have been well served to freshen her list of scholarly sources, as critical attention to the notion of american exceptionalism has been a frequent focus of new americanist work in recent years. Douglas, ann, herman melville and the revolt against the reader. Waichee dimock approaches herman melville not as a timeless genius, bu. Herman melvilles typee oscillates between a purely objective description of native islanders and a subjective colonial representation from the viewpoint of a white explorer in exotic lands.

Melvilles japan and the marketplace religion of terror. The latter was a revision which signaled the move toward a more aggressively. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton university press, 1991, was greeted by. Melville and the poetics of individualism princeton university press, 1989. News from the mla wai chee dimock named pmla editor. Written by established scholars as well as the newest and brightest young critics, als thoughtprovoking essays cover a broad spectrum of periods and genres and employ a wide range of methodological and theoretical approachesthe best in american literary criticism. Melville and the poetics of individualism paperback february 21, 1991. Attached you will find the draft of an essay drawn from a new book project, provisionally entitled the apprehension of fraud in american legal culture. The new cambridge companion to herman melville provides timely, critical essays on melvilles classic works. She defines american exceptionalism using waichee dimocks terms in empire for liberty.