Lauren Marshall -- Junior Undergraduate Student
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford -- English Capstone
2011
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford -- English Capstone
2011
Any historian of the literature of the modern age will take virtually
for granted the adversary intention, the actually subversive intention,
that characterizes modern writing--he will perceive its clear purpose of
detaching the reader from the habits of thought and feeling that the
larger culture imposes, of giving him a ground and a vantage point
from which to judge and condemn, and perhaps revise, the culture
that produces him.
-- Lionel Trilling 1979
Literature has never been black and white to me; I have always experienced texts on multiple levels and through varied perspectives. In analysis of the Utopian textual genre, I have attempted to represent the same multi-level exposé that I experienced when reading the included texts.
As an interdisciplinary student, I was immediately enveloped in the literary theory of David Greetham and his work in The Pleasures of Contamination. Greetham supports a post-modern critical analysis of all texts, those fit for the canon as well as posters, pop culture, science, media, and behaviors, that spans the gaps that traditional academic institutions have created. The idea that a literary analysis could be made including classic literary texts as well as video games, television shows, and movies while remaining academic in nature made me consider topics in literature quite differently.
Engaging in Political Science, History, and English studies, I searched for a topic that was represented in all of my fields. Utopian theory lent itself particularly well to my critical goals. Having a rich historical, political, social, and cultural as well as literary influence, Utopian theory, and practice is a post-modern critic’s dream study.
Not only was I interested in the rich contaminations and connections in the history and survey of existing Utopian texts, but also in contemporary Utopian creations. This genre of study allowed me to incorporate my academic interests with modern elements such as gaming, films, television, and popular music.
The following survey of the Utopian genre is neither comprehensive nor standard but it does shed light on the evolution of the genre and the potential for this literary genre to implicate many aspects outside of its prearranged structuring. I have attempted to choose pieces that display their periods lasting contributions to Utopian theory as well those that best represent the progressive changes that history, experience, and the threat of the future which have transformed Utopianism.
As an interdisciplinary student, I was immediately enveloped in the literary theory of David Greetham and his work in The Pleasures of Contamination. Greetham supports a post-modern critical analysis of all texts, those fit for the canon as well as posters, pop culture, science, media, and behaviors, that spans the gaps that traditional academic institutions have created. The idea that a literary analysis could be made including classic literary texts as well as video games, television shows, and movies while remaining academic in nature made me consider topics in literature quite differently.
Engaging in Political Science, History, and English studies, I searched for a topic that was represented in all of my fields. Utopian theory lent itself particularly well to my critical goals. Having a rich historical, political, social, and cultural as well as literary influence, Utopian theory, and practice is a post-modern critic’s dream study.
Not only was I interested in the rich contaminations and connections in the history and survey of existing Utopian texts, but also in contemporary Utopian creations. This genre of study allowed me to incorporate my academic interests with modern elements such as gaming, films, television, and popular music.
The following survey of the Utopian genre is neither comprehensive nor standard but it does shed light on the evolution of the genre and the potential for this literary genre to implicate many aspects outside of its prearranged structuring. I have attempted to choose pieces that display their periods lasting contributions to Utopian theory as well those that best represent the progressive changes that history, experience, and the threat of the future which have transformed Utopianism.