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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2023

Bryan M. Santin
Affiliation:
Concordia University Irvine
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Summary

This Introduction surveys the long, inextricable relationship between American politics and the American novel in the twentieth century. After defining twentieth-century “politics” broadly as the theoretical intersection between power, freedom, and justice within the framework of American liberalism, it explains why the American novel is a unique aperture through which to view political conflict and change, arguing that the novel form illuminates how official power relations overlap with personal power relations. While surveying previous scholarship on American politics and the novel, it explains why the volume does not restrict itself to the narrow subgenre of “political fiction.” The Introduction then addresses the rationale for each major section: “Ideologies and Movements,” “The Politics of Genre and Form,” and “Case Studies.” It concludes by considering how a robust engagement with the politics of the twentieth-century American novel can help us make sense of our political present.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Bryan M. Santin, Concordia University Irvine
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Novel and Politics
  • Online publication: 07 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009030274.002
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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Bryan M. Santin, Concordia University Irvine
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Novel and Politics
  • Online publication: 07 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009030274.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Edited by Bryan M. Santin, Concordia University Irvine
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Novel and Politics
  • Online publication: 07 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009030274.002
Available formats
×