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Tragedy in Transition is an innovative and exciting introduction to the theory and practice of tragedy. Looks at a broad range of topics in the field of tragedy in literature, from ancient to contemporary times Explores the links between writers from different times and cultures Focuses on the reception of classical texts in subsequent literatures, and discusses their treatment in a range of media Surveys the lasting influence of the most resonant narratives in tragedy Contemplates exciting and unexpected combinations of text and topic among them the relationship between tragedy and childhood, science fiction, and the role of the gods
A team of scholars look at a broad range of topics in the field of tragedy in literature, from ancient to contemporary times. They explore the links between writers from different times and cultures, focusing on the reception of classical texts in subsequent literatures and discussing their treatment in a range of media.
A “brilliant” examination of American complacency and how it puts the nation’s—and the world’s—security at risk (The Wall Street Journal). The ancient Greeks hard-wired a tragic sensibility into their culture. By looking disaster squarely in the face, by understanding just how badly things could spiral out of control, they sought to create a communal sense of responsibility and courage—to spur citizens and their leaders to take the difficult actions necessary to avert such a fate. Today, after more than seventy years of great-power peace and a quarter-century of unrivaled global leadership, Americans have lost their sense of tragedy. They have forgotten that the descent into violence and war has been all too common throughout human history. This amnesia has become most pronounced just as Americans and the global order they created are coming under graver threat than at any time in decades. In a forceful argument that brims with historical sensibility and policy insights, two distinguished historians argue that a tragic sensibility is necessary if America and its allies are to address the dangers that menace the international order today. Tragedy may be commonplace, Brands and Edel argue, but it is not inevitable—so long as we regain an appreciation of the world’s tragic nature before it is too late. “Literate and lucid—sure to interest to readers of Fukuyama, Huntington, and similar authors as well as students of modern realpolitik.” —Kirkus Reviews
Events in the world today appear to be increasingly uncontrollable and unknowable. Climate change, refugee crises, and global pandemics seem to demonstrate the limits of human reason, science, and technology. In light of this, the terms "tragedy" and "tragic" have come into greater use. What does the register of the tragic do? What does its deployment in the contemporary context and other times of crisis mean? In addressing such questions, this book also argues for a "tragic vision" embedded in the history of social thought, demonstrating the relevance of the ancient tragedians and Aristotle as well as Shakespeare and modern dramatists to the most pressing questions of agency and collectivity in the social sciences. Developing a theory of "tragic social science," which is applied to topics including global inequality, celebrity culture, pandemics, and climate change, The Concept of Tragedy aims to restore "tragedy" as a productive analytic in the social sciences. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, social theory, media and communications, and literary criticism with interests in tragedy, suffering, and modernity.
In his masterpiece An American Tragedy, the naturalist writer Theodore Dreiser depicts different pains of American society as it was stepping into the modern age. The youths from the lower rung of the society detested the traditional norms and values and sought ways of transformation in the job market and opportunities brought about by industrialization. However, their dreams, ambitions and efforts to ascend the social ladder ended up in a tragedy. Dreiser, the pioneer of naturalism in the American literary arena effectively depicts such phenomena through the life of his protagonist, Clyde. Brought up in a strict religious family characterized by abject poverty, Clyde struggles to overcome the life of deprivation. However, he does not possess the mental ability and skills to overcome the difficulties of life and succumbs to vicious circle of circumstances. Whereas realism portrays events and incidents of a society in a realistic manner naturalists go beyond realism to come up with the causes and explanations behind a real event. By relying on psychology, chemism, mechanism and social forces, Dreiser portrays how human life is devoid of free will. Dreiser effectively shows that lack of education, religiously stringent home environment and pangs of poverty throughout his childhood had charted out a gloomy fate for Clyde, who heads towards the death bed and is executed at the prime of youth. In his works, Dreiser often uses animal metaphors and similes to effect his point that human beings are no different from animals for their lack of free will and, are prey to circumstances. Though at the face value the school of naturalism seems gloomy, dark and negative it does offer optimism and hope. Naturalists believe on evolution and hence, human beings can improve themselves and can learn to overcome beastly nature. In the due process of evolution they can learn to live by reason instead of being ruled by instincts. Thus, human beings have the potential to achieve a similar ideal world as envisioned by spiritualism. Works inspired by naturalism also impart a guiding lesson to the society that the society and its stake holders are responsible for existing social ills/evils. In the case of the tragic hero, it was the social structure that denied access to education and better opportunities for poor youths to embrace a good life.
Nietzsche's Voices, a much-anticipated volume of the Collected Writings of John Sallis, presents his two-semester lecture course on Nietzsche offered in the Philosophy Department of Duquesne University during the school year 1971-72. "Nietzsche is easy to read; his is apparently the easiest of all the great philosophies. Yet the easy intelligibility is deceptive. Nietzsche's writings make us believe we have understood when in fact we have not. His philosophy is actually the exact opposite of easy," says Sallis. With this warning always in mind, Sallis first discusses Nietzsche's life and the relevance of the ancient Greeks to his thought and then analyzes Nietzsche's views on truth, history, morality, and the death of God. The entire second half of the book is devoted to Nietzsche's main work, the tragic, comedic, poetic Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Nietzsche's Voices offers a sensitive and brilliant introduction to the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, as presented by one of today's most significant philosophers.
The Transformations of Tragedy: Christian Influences from Early Modern to Modern explores the influence of Christian theology and culture upon the development of post-classical Western tragedy. The volume is divided into three parts: early modern, modern, and contemporary. This series of essays by established and emergent scholars offers a sustained study of Christianity’s creative influence upon experimental forms of Western tragic drama. Both early modern and modern tragedy emerged within periods of remarkable upheaval in Church history, yet Christianity’s diverse influence upon tragedy has too often been either ignored or denounced by major tragic theorists. This book contends instead that the history of tragedy cannot be sufficiently theorised without fully registering the impact of Christianity in transition towards modernity.
Bali and Balinese culture have become central to western imaginings of 'the east.' Along with its natural beauty and tropical sensuality, Bali's rich and complex culture has proved intensely alluring for western artists, scholars, and travelers. However, as this aesthetic imagining and desire for beauty have evolved into a mass tourism industry, the island people and their culture have experienced radical and rapid transformation. While many in the international community were stunned by the horror of the militant bombings in 2002 and 2005, these attacks were merely the apex of a profound and ongoing crisis which resonates through the period of Bali's modernization and engagement with the global economy of pleasure. Bali's Silent Crisis examines and elucidates the complex cultural and political environment of contemporary Bali. The book explains the conditions of crisis in Bali in terms of a powerful collision of cultural elements and trends, focusing specifically on the double matrix of 'desire' and 'violence' that has characterized Bali's recent past. Moving beyond a simple opposition between 'tradition' and 'the modern', this book reveals a society that is struggling to reconcile its own profound aesthetic and sense of historical identity with the intense agonisms that are generated through rapid social and cultural change. Through its thematic approach, Bali's Silent Crisis presents an image of community trauma, creative resilience and pluralization. The book records the challenges and horrors associated with transition, as well as the formidable beauty that remains intrinsic to the island's sense of cultural destiny.
From one of the world's leading experts on the history of energy, a rigorous examination of the transitions that structure our modern world--and the environmental reckoning that will mark its success or failure. What makes the modern world work? The answer to this deceptively simple question lies in four "grand transitions" of civilization--in populations, agriculture, energy, and economics--which have transformed the way we live. Societies that have undergone all four transitions emerge into an era of radically different population dynamics, food surpluses (and waste), abundant energy use, and expanding economic opportunities. Simultaneously, in other parts of the world, hundreds of millions remain largely untouched by these developments. Through erudite storytelling, Vaclav Smil investigates the fascinating and complex interactions of these transitions. He argues that the moral imperative to share modernity's benefits has become more acute with increasing economic inequality, but addressing this imbalance would make it exceedingly difficult to implement the changes necessary for the long-term preservation of the environment. Thus, managing the fifth transition--environmental changes from natural-resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and global warming--will determine the success or eventual failure of the grand transitions that have made the world we live in today.