Roman Constructions
Readings in Postmodern Latin
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Roman Constructions collects together twelve published and unpublished papers on Latin literature and literary theory from the decade 1989 to 1999. The papers share a common 'postmodern' emphasis on the role of the modern scholar and critic in the construction, rather than recreation, of meaning, and attempt to show how this approach works in detailed readings of a number of Latin authors, above all Vergil. The papers deal with such topics as point of view and focalization, intertextuality, historical contextualization, and closure, and each section is introduced by reflections on recent work in these areas subsequent to the original papers. The work makes a plea for classical scholars to accept their historical situatedness and to give up the pretence of scientific objectivity so that they can play a fuller part in the cultural dialogues of the present.
It's no good pretending that this is just an ordinary academic book. If it were, it would still be an important contribution to Classical Studies ... But Roman Constructions: Readings in postmodern Latin is something more than the sum of its parts. * Joseph Farrell, TLS *
Against received opinion, Fowler argues cogently in favour of reading Greek texts according to the same rules that have by now become normal among Latinists, rather than vice versa. It would be revolutionary if this collection were to help balance the methodical trade between Greek and Latin studies. One can only hope. * Joseph Farrell, TLS *
Fowler's wide theoretical reading supports a distinctive and coherent critical position. * Joseph Farrell, TLS *
the three new, and nine previously published, essays in this collection, together with the commentary that shapes the collection as a whole, form an important critical statement. * Joseph Farrell, TLS *
ISBN: 9780198153092
Dimensions: 224mm x 146mm x 24mm
Weight: 1g
366 pages