New Materialist Literary Theory: Critical Conceptions of Literature for the Anthropocene

The edited collection explores New Materialism as a critical mode of critique towards the current human condition and its effect on literature and the present, drawing on literary analysis and theory. It highlights the concepts of entanglement and speculation, which critically examine our precarious relation to the planet's matter following human interference. Literature serves as the site in which these concepts are intensively presented and negotiated.

Format: Hardback
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2024
Publisher: Lexington Books

This edited collection draws inspiration from recent philosophical movements that emphasize a critical re-engagement with the material world beyond human culture. Through the lens of literary analysis and theory, this book explores the potential of New Materialism as a timely mode of critique for the current human condition and its impact on literature and the present. With contributions from renowned literary scholars and theorists, key New Materialist concepts such as entanglement and speculation are represented by onto-epistemology and speculative respectively. These concepts critically examine our fragile relationship with the matter of the planet following human interference. Entanglement delves into this inference and its ramifications, while speculation highlights the cognitive limitations we face in comprehending these consequences and our responsibility to persist in our attempts to grasp them. Literature serves as a pivotal space where entanglement and speculation, along with their interplay, are extensively presented and negotiated. Together, entanglement and speculation (theory) strive to establish a critical literary theory that is well-suited for the Anthropocene era.

Weight: 514g
Dimension: 158 x 236 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666929126