Aesthetic Nervousness

Disability and the Crisis of Representation

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Disability, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Theory
Cover of the book Aesthetic Nervousness by Ato Quayson, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ato Quayson ISBN: 9780231511179
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: June 29, 2007
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Ato Quayson
ISBN: 9780231511179
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: June 29, 2007
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Focusing primarily on the work of Samuel Beckett, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, and J. M. Coetzee, Ato Quayson launches a thoroughly cross-cultural, interdisciplinary study of the representation of physical disability. Quayson suggests that the subliminal unease and moral panic invoked by the disabled is refracted within the structures of literature and literary discourse itself, a crisis he terms "aesthetic nervousness." The disabled reminds the able-bodied that the body is provisional and temporary and that normality is wrapped up in certain social frameworks. Quayson expands his argument by turning to Greek and Yoruba writings, African American and postcolonial literature, depictions of deformed characters in early modern England and the plays of Shakespeare, and children's films, among other texts. He considers how disability affects interpersonal relationships and forces the character and the reader to take an ethical standpoint, much like representations of violence, pain, and the sacred. The disabled are also used to represent social suffering, inadvertently obscuring their true hardships.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Focusing primarily on the work of Samuel Beckett, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, and J. M. Coetzee, Ato Quayson launches a thoroughly cross-cultural, interdisciplinary study of the representation of physical disability. Quayson suggests that the subliminal unease and moral panic invoked by the disabled is refracted within the structures of literature and literary discourse itself, a crisis he terms "aesthetic nervousness." The disabled reminds the able-bodied that the body is provisional and temporary and that normality is wrapped up in certain social frameworks. Quayson expands his argument by turning to Greek and Yoruba writings, African American and postcolonial literature, depictions of deformed characters in early modern England and the plays of Shakespeare, and children's films, among other texts. He considers how disability affects interpersonal relationships and forces the character and the reader to take an ethical standpoint, much like representations of violence, pain, and the sacred. The disabled are also used to represent social suffering, inadvertently obscuring their true hardships.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Plastic Reality by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Spells, Images, and Mandalas by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Kinship and Killing by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to Irish American History by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Crowds and Democracy by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Consumed Nostalgia by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Plant-Thinking by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book American Force by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Political Theology by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book The Great Civilized Conversation by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Maya Deren by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book The Pariah Problem by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Saracens by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Everyday Ethics and Social Change by Ato Quayson
Cover of the book Global Population by Ato Quayson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy