Quiet Testimony

A Theory of Witnessing from Nineteenth-Century American Literature

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Free Will & Determinism, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Theory
Cover of the book Quiet Testimony by Shari Goldberg, Fordham University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Shari Goldberg ISBN: 9780823254781
Publisher: Fordham University Press Publication: September 2, 2013
Imprint: American Literatures Initiative Language: English
Author: Shari Goldberg
ISBN: 9780823254781
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Publication: September 2, 2013
Imprint: American Literatures Initiative
Language: English

The nineteenth century was a time of extraordinary attunement to the unspoken, the elusively present, and the subtly haunting. Quiet Testimony finds in such attunement a valuable rethinking of what it means to encounter the truth. It argues that four key writers—Emerson, Douglass, Melville, and Henry James—open up the domain of the witness by articulating quietude’s claim on the clamoring world.

The premise of quiet testimony responds to urgent questions in critical theory and human rights. Emerson is brought into conversation with Levinas, and Douglass is considered alongside Agamben. Yet the book is steeped in the intellectual climate of the nineteenth century, in which speech and meaning might exceed the bounds of the recognized human subject. In this context, Melville’s characters could read the weather, and James’s could spend an evening with dead companions.

By following the path by which ostensibly unremarkable entities come to voice, Quiet Testimony suggests new configurations for ethics, politics, and the literary.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The nineteenth century was a time of extraordinary attunement to the unspoken, the elusively present, and the subtly haunting. Quiet Testimony finds in such attunement a valuable rethinking of what it means to encounter the truth. It argues that four key writers—Emerson, Douglass, Melville, and Henry James—open up the domain of the witness by articulating quietude’s claim on the clamoring world.

The premise of quiet testimony responds to urgent questions in critical theory and human rights. Emerson is brought into conversation with Levinas, and Douglass is considered alongside Agamben. Yet the book is steeped in the intellectual climate of the nineteenth century, in which speech and meaning might exceed the bounds of the recognized human subject. In this context, Melville’s characters could read the weather, and James’s could spend an evening with dead companions.

By following the path by which ostensibly unremarkable entities come to voice, Quiet Testimony suggests new configurations for ethics, politics, and the literary.

More books from Fordham University Press

Cover of the book Benjamin's Passages by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book The Trial of the Catonsville Nine by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Shakespeare as a Way of Life by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Deserter Country by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book The Last Professors by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Classical New York by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Responding to Loss by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Giving Beyond the Gift by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Democracy, Culture, Catholicism by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Transcendence and the Concrete by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book The Creative Retrieval of Saint Thomas Aquinas by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Hollow Men by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Husserl by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Paul Hanly Furfey by Shari Goldberg
Cover of the book Fifth Avenue Famous by Shari Goldberg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy