The Neoliberal Imagination in Contemporary Literature: A Study of Empathy in a Time of Global Crisis (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature)

By: Tammy Amiel Houser

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Synopsis: This book examines the relationship between empathy and neoliberalism as it unfolded in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and through the turbulent 2010s. Via close readings of contemporary novels, as well as various non-fictional texts, it traces the changing approaches to empathy in the post-financial-crisis imagination, highlighting a crucial re-conceptualization of empathy as a boundaryless force, untethered to local or social circumstance. This reconceptualization implicitly aligns empathy with the neoliberal ethos of globalism and distances it from the traditional notion of “sympathy.” Via complex dialogue with the novelistic tradition of sympathy, contemporary novelists highlight the problematics of boundaryless empathy, while exploring ways to resist neoliberal views and values. Analyzing engagements with empathy in post-2008 literature and culture, the book sheds light on the underlying affective dynamics that enabled the persistence of neoliberalism after the 2008 financial crisis, alongside efforts to challenge its dominance.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781040107317
Related ISBNs:: 9781040107348, 9781003472957, 9781032752129
Publisher:: Taylor & Francis
Date of Addition:: 08/05/24
Copyrighted By:: N/A
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Business and Finance, Psychology, Language Arts
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.