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The Anthropocene and the Undead describes how our experience of an
increasingly erratic environment and the idea of the undead are
more closely linked than the obvious zombie horde signaling the end
of the world. In fact, as described here, much of how we understand
the anthropocene both conceptually and in practice involves undead
entities from the past that will not die, undead traumas that rise
up and consume the world, and undead temporalities that can never
end. fifteen original essays by cultural and anthropological
experts such as Kyle William Bishop, Nils Bubandt, Johan Hoeglund,
and Steffen Hantke, among others, study the nature of humanity's
ongoing complicated relationship to the environment via the concept
of the undead. In doing so, The Anthropocene and the Undead sheds
invaluable light on adjacent concepts such as the Capitalocene,
Necrocene, Disanthropocene, Post-anthropocene, and the Symbiocene
to trace real and imagined trajectories of our more-than-human
selves into undead and undying futures.
Why do Israelis dislike fantasy? Put so bluntly, the question
appears frivolous. But in fact, it goes to the deepest sources of
Israeli historical identity and literary tradition. Uniquely among
developed nations, Israel's origin is in a utopian novel, Theodor
Herzl's 'Altneuland' (1902), which predicted the future Jewish
state. Jewish writing in the Diaspora has always tended toward the
fantastic, the mystical, and the magical. And yet, from its very
inception, Israeli literature has been stubbornly realistic. The
present volume challenges this stance. Originally published in
Hebrew in 2009, it is the first serious, wide-ranging, and
theoretically sophisticated exploration of fantasy in Israeli
literature and culture. Its contributors jointly attempt to contest
the question posed at the beginning: why do Israelis, living in a
country whose very existence is predicated on the fulfillment of a
utopian dream, distrust fantasy?
The Poetics of Genre in the Contemporary Novel investigates the
role of genre in the contemporary novel: taking its departure from
the observation that numerous contemporary novelists make use of
popular genre influences in what are still widely considered to be
literary novels, it sketches the uses, the work, and the value of
genre. It suggests the value of a critical look at texts' genre use
for an analysis of the contemporary moment. From this, it develops
a broader perspective, suggesting the value of genre criticism and
taking into view traditional genres such as the bildungsroman and
the metafictional novel as well as the kinds of amalgamated forms
which have recently come to prominence. In essays discussing a wide
range of authors from Steven Hall to Bret Easton Ellis to Colson
Whitehead, the contributors to the volume develop their own
readings of genre's work and valence in the contemporary novel.
Space is a central topic in cultural and narrative theory today,
although in most cases theory assumes Newtonian absolute space.
However, the idea of a universal homogeneous space is now obsolete.
Black holes, multiple dimensions, quantum entanglement, and
spatio-temporal distortions of relativity have passed into culture
at large. This book examines whether narrative can be used to
represent these "impossible" spaces. Impossible topologies abound
in ancient mythologies, from the Australian Aborigines'
"dream-time" to the multiple-layer universe of the Sumerians. More
recently, from Alice's adventures in Wonderland to contemporary
science fiction's obsession with black holes and quantum paradoxes,
counter-intuitive spaces are a prominent feature of modern and
postmodern narrative. With the rise and popularization of science
fiction, the inventiveness and variety of impossible narrative
spaces explodes. The author analyses the narrative techniques used
to represent such spaces alongside their cultural significance.
Each chapter connects narrative deformation of space with
historical problematic of time, and demonstrates the cognitive and
perceptual primacy of narrative in representing, imagining and
apprehending new forms of space and time. This book offers a
comprehensive analysis of the connection between narratology,
cultural theory, science fiction, and studies of place.
Space is a central topic in cultural and narrative theory today,
although in most cases theory assumes Newtonian absolute space.
However, the idea of a universal homogeneous space is now obsolete.
Black holes, multiple dimensions, quantum entanglement, and
spatio-temporal distortions of relativity have passed into culture
at large. This book examines whether narrative can be used to
represent these "impossible" spaces. Impossible topologies abound
in ancient mythologies, from the Australian Aborigines'
"dream-time" to the multiple-layer universe of the Sumerians. More
recently, from Alice's adventures in Wonderland to contemporary
science fiction's obsession with black holes and quantum paradoxes,
counter-intuitive spaces are a prominent feature of modern and
postmodern narrative. With the rise and popularization of science
fiction, the inventiveness and variety of impossible narrative
spaces explodes. The author analyses the narrative techniques used
to represent such spaces alongside their cultural significance.
Each chapter connects narrative deformation of space with
historical problematic of time, and demonstrates the cognitive and
perceptual primacy of narrative in representing, imagining and
apprehending new forms of space and time. This book offers a
comprehensive analysis of the connection between narratology,
cultural theory, science fiction, and studies of place.
This handbook is the first-of-its-kind comprehensive overview of
fantasy outside the Anglo-American hegemony. While most academic
studies of fantasy follow the well-trodden path of focusing on
Tolkien, Rowling, and others, our collection spotlights rich and
unique fantasy literatures in India, Australia, Italy, Greece,
Poland, Russia, China, and many other areas of Europe, Asia, and
the global South. The first part focuses on the theoretical aspects
of fantasy, broadening and modifying existing definitions to
accommodate the global reach of the genre. The second part contains
essays illuminating specific cultures, countries, and religious or
ethnic traditions. From Aboriginal myths to (self)-representation
of Tibet, from the appropriation of the Polish Witcher by the
American pop culture to modern Greek fantasy that does not rely on
stories of Olympian deities, and from Israeli vampires to Talmudic
sages, this collection is an indispensable reading for anyone
interested in fantasy fiction and global literature.Â
One of the most astounding aftershocks of the collapse of the
Soviet Union was the massive immigration of Russian Jews to Israel.
Today, Russian speakers constitute one-sixth of Israel's total
population. No other country in the world has absorbed such a
prodigious number of immigrants in such a short period. The
implications of this phenomenon are immense both locally (given the
geopolitical situation in the Middle East) and globally (as
multicultural and multiethnic states become the rule rather than
the exception). For a growing number of immigrants worldwide, the
experience of living across different cultures, speaking different
languages, and accommodating different--and often
incompatible--identities is a daily reality. This reality is a
challenge to the scholar striving to understand the origin and
nature of cultural identity. Languages can be learned, economic
constraints overcome, social mores assimilated. But identity
persists through generations, setting immigrants and their children
apart from their adoptive country. The story of the former Russians
in Israel is an illuminating example of this global trend. The
Russian Jews who came to Israel were initially welcomed as prodigal
sons coming home. Their connection to their "historical motherland"
was seemingly cemented not only by their Jewish ethnicity, but also
by a potent Russian influence upon Zionism. The first Zionist
settlers in Palestine were mostly from Russia and Poland, and
Russian literature, music, and sensibility had had a profound
effect upon the emerging Hebrew culture. Thus, it seemed that while
facing the usual economic challenges of immigrations, the
"Russians," as they came to be known, would have littleproblem
acclimatizing in Israel. The reality has been quite different,
marked by mutual incomprehension and cultural mistranslation. While
achieving a prominent place in Israeli economy, the Russians in
Israel have faced discrimination and stereotyping. And their own
response to Israeli culture and society has largely been one of
rejection and disdain. If Israel has failed to integrate the
newcomers, the newcomers have shown little interest in being
integrated. Thus, the story of the post-Soviet Jews in Israel
illustrates a general phenomenon of cultural divergence, in which
history carves different identities out of common stock. Besides
marking a turning point in the development of Israel, it belongs to
the larger picture of the contemporary world, profoundly marked by
the collapse of the catastrophic utopias of Nazism and Communism.
And yet this story has not adequately been dealt with by the
academy. There have been relatively few studies of the Russian
immigration to Israel and none that situates the phenomenon in a
cultural, rather than purely sociological, context. Elana Gomel's
book, The Pilgrim Soul: Being Russian in Israel, is an original and
exciting investigation of the Russian community in Israel. It
analyzes the narratives through which Russian Jewry defines itself
and connects them to the legacy of Soviet history. It engages with
such key elements of the Russian-Israeli identity as the aversion
from organized religion, the challenge of bilingualism, the cult of
romantic passion, and even the singular fondness for science
fiction. It provides factual information on the social, economic,
and political situation of the Russians in Israel but relates the
data to an overallinterpretation of the community's cultural
history. At the same time, the book goes beyond the specificity of
its subject by focusing on the theoretical issues of identity
formation, historical trauma, and utopian disillusionment. The
Pilgrim Soul is an important book for all collections in cultural
studies, ethnic and immigrant studies, Israeli studies, and Soviet
studies. It will appeal to a variety of readers interested in the
issues of immigration, multiculturalism, and identity formation.
Are we living in a post-temporal age? Has history come to an end?
This book argues against the widespread perception of postmodern
narrativity as atemporal and ahistorical, claiming that
postmodernity is characterized by an explosion of heterogeneous
narrative "timeshapes" or chronotopes.
Chronological linearity is being challenged by quantum physics that
implies temporal simultaneity; by evolutionary theory that charts
multiple time-lines; and by religious and political millenarianism
that espouses an apocalyptic finitude of both time and space. While
science, religion, and politics have generated new narrative forms
of apprehending temporality, literary incarnations can be found in
the worlds of science fiction.
By engaging classic science-fictional conventions, such as time
travel, alternative history, and the end of the world, and by
situating these conventions in their cultural context, this book
offers a new and fresh perspective on the narratology and cultural
significance of time.
Through the lens of science fiction, this book investigates
representations of time in postmodernism. Are we living in a
post-temporal age? Has history come to an end? This book argues
against the widespread perception of postmodern narrativity as
atemporal and a historical, claiming that postmodernity is
characterized by an explosion of heterogeneous narrative
'timeshapes' or chronotopes. Chronological linearity is being
challenged by quantum physics that implies temporal simultaneity;
by evolutionary theory that charts multiple time-lines; and by
religious and political millenarianism that espouses an apocalyptic
finitude of both time and space. While science, religion, and
politics have generated new narrative forms of apprehending
temporality, literary incarnations can be found in the worlds of
science fiction. By engaging classic science-fictional conventions,
such as time travel, alternative history, and the end of the world,
and by situating these conventions in their cultural context, this
book offers a new and fresh perspective on the narratology and
cultural significance of time.
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