From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present

The thesis focuses on literary-engagements with London and New York from 1985- present. It brings together a diverse range of literary texts and theoretical discourses on postmodernity, post-colonialism, mass culture and difference, and identifies a variety of cognate literary approaches adopted by...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Hayward, Emma
Published:	University of Liverpool 2015
Subjects:	810.9 PR English literature
Online Access:	http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.677525

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spelling	ndltd-bl.uk-oai-ethos.bl.uk-6775252017-07-25T03:41:57ZFrom London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-presentHayward, Emma2015The thesis focuses on literary-engagements with London and New York from 1985- present. It brings together a diverse range of literary texts and theoretical discourses on postmodernity, post-colonialism, mass culture and difference, and identifies a variety of cognate literary approaches adopted by contemporary authors in response to the more undesirable facets of late-capitalism. Postmodernity is often conceptualised negatively, critiqued for the way in which it diminishes subjectivity, authenticity, meaning, cultural and ideological efficacy, and historical continuity. The thesis challenges this theoretical perspective by showing how contemporary writing on London and New York is characterised by a recuperative agenda that seeks to ascribe these very qualities to everyday urban experience as it is lived and felt under the conditions of postmodernity. In particular, it considers the significant role played by formal experimentation, and the ways in which postmodern literary techniques, such as intertextuality and hybridity, work ironically to recover a high- modernist concern with meaning, authenticity, cultural efficacy and individual agency. The thesis identifies a millennial shift towards a ‘post-postmodern’ or ‘metamodern’ optimism and enthusiasm, and locates contemporary writing on urban space within this new context.810.9PR English literatureUniversity of Liverpoolhttp://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.677525http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/2028779/Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
collection	NDLTD
sources	NDLTD
topic	810.9 PR English literature
spellingShingle	810.9 PR English literature Hayward, Emma From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
description	The thesis focuses on literary-engagements with London and New York from 1985- present. It brings together a diverse range of literary texts and theoretical discourses on postmodernity, post-colonialism, mass culture and difference, and identifies a variety of cognate literary approaches adopted by contemporary authors in response to the more undesirable facets of late-capitalism. Postmodernity is often conceptualised negatively, critiqued for the way in which it diminishes subjectivity, authenticity, meaning, cultural and ideological efficacy, and historical continuity. The thesis challenges this theoretical perspective by showing how contemporary writing on London and New York is characterised by a recuperative agenda that seeks to ascribe these very qualities to everyday urban experience as it is lived and felt under the conditions of postmodernity. In particular, it considers the significant role played by formal experimentation, and the ways in which postmodern literary techniques, such as intertextuality and hybridity, work ironically to recover a high- modernist concern with meaning, authenticity, cultural efficacy and individual agency. The thesis identifies a millennial shift towards a ‘post-postmodern’ or ‘metamodern’ optimism and enthusiasm, and locates contemporary writing on urban space within this new context.
author	Hayward, Emma
author_facet	Hayward, Emma
author_sort	Hayward, Emma
title	From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
title_short	From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
title_full	From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
title_fullStr	From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
title_full_unstemmed	From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present
title_sort	from london to new york : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in british and american literature from 1985-present
publisher	University of Liverpool
publishDate	2015
url	http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.677525
work_keys_str_mv	AT haywardemma fromlondontonewyorkperipateticnarrativesandtheurbanimaginaryinbritishandamericanliteraturefrom1985present
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From London to New York : peripatetic narratives and the urban imaginary in British and American literature from 1985-present

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