La decouverte scientifique et la maitrise de l'electricite ont bouleverse notre societe au meme titre que l'invention de l'ecriture alphabetique durant l'Antiquite et de l'imprimerie a caracteres mobiles au XVe siecle. Il ne s'agit pas seulement d'un phenomene naturel mis au service de l'homme par la science, mais d'un element central de l'episteme moderne: l'electricite a inspire des ecrivains et des artistes, a servi de force d'impulsion au monde de l'industrie et de l'innovation et a redefini les comportements sociaux. En explorant l'incidence de l'electricite sur le savoir, les pratiques sociales, les medias, la vie sociale et les experiences personnelles, cet ouvrage tente d'en saisir les aspects techniques et culturels dans toute leur complexite. -- The scientific discovery and mastery of electricity created as many important changes in modern society as did the invention of alphabetical writing in antiquity and movable type in the fifteenth century. It is more than a natural phenomenon that science has harnessed for human use; it is a central feature of the modern episteme. It has inspired writers and artists, propelled industry and innovation, and reshaped human social behaviour. Looking at a variety of topics including film, politics, and contemporary art, this volume explores the impact of electricity on knowledge, social practices, media, community life, and subjective experience.

The development of literature in Canada with an eye to its multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual nature. From modest colonial beginnings, literature in Canada has arrived at the center stage of world literature. Works by English-Canadian writers -- both established writers such as Margaret Atwood and new talents such as Yann Martel -- make regular appearances on international bestseller lists. French-Canadian literature has also found its own voice in the North American and francophone worlds. "CanLit" has likewise developed into a staple of academic interest, pursued in Canadian Studies programs in Canada and around the world. This volume draws on the expertise of scholars from Canada, Germany, Austria, and France, tracing Canadian literature from the indigenous oral tradition to thedevelopment of English-Canadian and French-Canadian literature since colonial times. Conceiving of Canada as a single but multifaceted culture, it accounts for specific characteristics of English- and French-Canadian literatures,such as the vital role of the short story in English Canada or that of the chanson in French Canada. Yet special attention is also paid to Aboriginal literature and to the pronounced transcultural, ethnically diverse character ofmuch contemporary Canadian literature, thus moving clearly beyond the traditions of the two founding nations. Contributors: Reingard M. Nischik, Eva Gruber, Iain M. Higgins, Guy Lafleche, Dorothee Scholl, Gwendolyn Davies, Tracy Ware, Fritz Peter Kirsch, Julia Breitbach, Lorraine York, Marta Dvorak, Jerry Wasserman, Ursula Mathis-Moser, Doris G. Eibl, Rolf Lohse, Sherrill Grace, Caroline Rosenthal, Martin Kuester, Nicholas Bradley, Anne Nothof, Georgiana Banita, Gilles Dupuis, and Andrea Oberhuber. Reingard M. Nischik is Professor of American Literature at the University of Constance, Germany.