Regionalism and the Reading ClassUniversity of Chicago Press, 2008 M09 15 - 208 páginas Globalization and the Internet are smothering cultural regionalism, that sense of place that flourished in simpler times. These two villains are also prime suspects in the death of reading. Or so alarming reports about our homogenous and dumbed-down culture would have it, but as Regionalism and the Reading Class shows, neither of these claims stands up under scrutiny—quite the contrary. Wendy Griswold draws on cases from Italy, Norway, and the United States to show that fans of books form their own reading class, with a distinctive demographic profile separate from the general public. This reading class is modest in size but intense in its literary practices. Paradoxically these educated and mobile elites work hard to put down local roots by, among other strategies, exploring regional writing. Ultimately, due to the technological, economic, and political advantages they wield, cosmopolitan readers are able to celebrate, perpetuate, and reinvigorate local culture. Griswold’s study will appeal to students of cultural sociology and the history of the book—and her findings will be welcome news to anyone worried about the future of reading or the eclipse of place. |
Contenido
1 | |
3 | |
2 The Reading Class | 36 |
3 Cowbirds in America | 70 |
4 Paradox in Italy | 101 |
5 State Patronage in Norway and the US | 128 |
The Reading Class and the Future of Regionalism | 160 |
Appendix A Authors from Survey2000 | 176 |
Appendix B Most Popular Authors Overall and in Nine Regions | 180 |
References | 187 |
203 | |
Términos y frases comunes
activities American anthologies Arts associated Atlantic bachelor's degree bookstores celebrated century chapter Cheerwine Chicago collective identity cosmopolitan countries cowbirds cultural regionalism developed discussion East South Central economic elite Emily Dickinson England Ernest Hemingway example fiction Forgacs gender geographic global Griswold groups Hemingway Henry David Thoreau Houseman Illinois impact institutional intellectuals Internet Italian Italy James Michener John Grisham John Steinbeck landscape leisure less libraries literary regionalism live magazines Maine Manitoba mobility modern movers score National Endowment newspapers Norwegian novels Nynorsk Oslo overall pastoral percent political popular population produced publishers readers reading books reading class reading culture recognition scores regional authors regional culture regional literary regional literature regionalist regionalist aesthetic respondents Scott Fitzgerald Sicilian social Society space Statistics Norway stayers Stephen King survey tion University Press urban variable West Coast West North William Faulkner women writers York