Books in the Wiley-Blackwell Manifestos series

Timely and beautifully written, New England Beyond Criticism provides a passionate defense of the importance of the literature of New England to the American literary canon, and its impact on the development of spirituality, community, and culture in America.

Presents an original and controversial thesis about the future of war. This book argues that the biotechnology revolution has given war a fresh lease of life. It draws on thinkers from Hegel and Nietzsche to the postmodernists. It refers to modern fiction and films.

Why Victorian Literature Still Matters is a passionate defense of the enduring impact of Victorian realism today. With a nod to the popularity of phrenology within that era, noted literary scholar Philip Davis points to a corner of the human mind where all Victorian literature resides.

The State of the Novel offers a lively yet rigorous investigation into the present state of the contemporary novel--in Britain and beyond--and some speculation about its future. Against the backdrop of globalization, Dominic Head establishes the interests shared by contemporary theorists, cultural commentators, and consumers of novels.

Misuse of the Bible has made hatred holy. In this provocative book, Adrian Thatcher argues that debates on sexuality currently raging through the churches are the latest outbreak in a long line of savage interpretations of the Bible. Fascinating reading for anyone concerned about the future of Christianity.

What happens when we read imaginative literature? What do we learn from reading such texts? Reading complements our experience, sharpens our perceptions, gives us insight into how other humans live, enables us to understand other cultures and periods, and gives us aesthetic pleasure.

* A provocative and compelling exploration of the complex relationship between democracy and the arts* Argues that democracies require art - challenging art - to ensure that they are acting as free societies* Analyses the roles of dissenting and unpopular artists, such as Jackson Pollock, Bertolt Brecht, D.H.

What is the future for the Bible, one of the most important books in the world? In this manifesto, Roland Boer explores the idea that the Bible is an unruly and uncontrollable text that has been colonized by church, synagogue, and state.

Ours is a time when cultures and religions creatively interact but also often collide, and human power increasingly endangers forms of life even while great technological advances enable us to better relieve suffering and want.

A geo-political manifesto which questions the idea of Latinity as a sole name for the South American subcontinent. Charts the history of the concept of Latinity from its emergence in Europe under France's leadership through to the present day.

Demonstrates that citizens, religions and identities can survive in radically pluralist settings. This title tackles people's fears of religious pluralism. It argues that those involved in collisions of faith need to risk hospitality towards one another, as opposed to the conventional plea for tolerance.

Written by a renowned scholar of critical race theory, The Threat of Race explores how the concept of race has been historically produced and how it continues to be articulated, if often denied, in today's world.

Argues that it is only at the turn of the 21st century that the powerful lessons of the avant-garde - an avant-garde cruelly disrupted by the Great War and subsequent political upheavals - were learned. This book offers readings of T S Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Marcel Duchamp, and Velimir Khlebnikov. It examines various related poetic concerns.

In this major contribution to debates about English identity, leading theorist Robert J.C. Young argues that Englishness was never really about England at all. In the nineteenth century, it was rather developed as a form of long-distance identity for the English diaspora around the world.

* Asks what literary criticism should do in the post--theory era. * Articulates the case for a theoretically aware but textually centred literary studies. * Controversial in its privileging of texts over readings and in its insistence on the rehumanisation of literary studies.

Christianity is the world's largest religious grouping. It has undergone massive change in the 20th century, and seems poised to undergo major transformations in the next. This text examines these changes, and their implications for the future.

This important Manifesto argues that we still need a concept of society in order to make sense of the forces which structure our lives.

In this manifesto, distinguished critic Wayne Booth claims that communication in every corner of life can be improved if we study rhetoric closely. aeo Written by Wayne Booth, author of the seminal book, The Rhetoric of Fiction (1961). aeo Explores the consequences of bad rhetoric in education, in politics, and in the media.

Addresses anxieties about theory and claims that it still has a crucial role to play. This book sketches its genealogy, particularly its relation to surrealism, philosophy, and the hard sciences. It proposes that theory, like hysteria, consistently points out the inadequacies of official, serious and 'masterful' knowledge.

Focuses on discriminating different meanings of culture, as a way of introducing the debates around it. This book offers a critique of postmodern 'culturalism', arguing instead for a more complex relation between Culture and Nature, and trying to retrieve the importance of such concepts as human nature from a non-naturalistic perspective.

This manifesto traces the genealogy of "true religion" in the western world. It charts changes in our understanding of the term from Shakespeare to Salmon Rushdie, pointing out how closely linked those changes are to secularism, liberalism, and the development of capitalism.

* A critical summary of the emerging discipline of "ecocriticism". * Written by one of the world's leading theorists in ecocriticism. * Traces the history of the ecocritical movement from its roots in the 1970s through to its diversification and proliferation today.

After Kenneth W. Warren's What Was African American Literature?, Margo N. Crawford delivers What is African American Literature?The idea of African American literature may be much more than literature written by authors who identify as "Black". What is African American Literature? focuses on feeling as form in order to show that African American literature is an archive of feelings, a tradition of the tension between uncontainable black affect and rigid historical structure. Margo N. Crawford argues that textual production of affect (such as blush, vibration, shiver, twitch, and wink) reveals that African American literature keeps reimagining a black collective nervous system.Crawford foregrounds the "idea" of African American literature and uncovers the "black feeling world" co-created by writers and readers. Rejecting the notion that there are no formal lines separating African American literature and a broader American literary tradition, Crawford contends that the distinguishing feature of African American literature is a "moodscape" that is as stable as electricity. Presenting a fresh perspective on the affective atmosphere of African American literature, this compelling text frames central questions around the "idea" of African American literature, shows the limits of historicism in explaining the mood of African American literature and addresses textual production in the creation of the African American literary tradition.Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Manifestos series, What is African American Literature? is a significant addition to scholarship in the field. Professors and students of American literature, African American literature, and Black Studies will find this book an invaluable source of fresh perspectives and new insights on America's black literary tradition.

Where is American Literature? offers a spirited and compelling argument for rethinking the way we view American literature in relation to the nation while powerfully demonstrating why it continues to matter in a global age.

A Future for Criticism offers an original approach to the pleasures of fiction, and puts forward an explanation for the neglect of these pleasures in contemporary criticism.

Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto advocates a radical transformation of the discipline from its current, narrow focus on questions of God, to a fully global form of critical reflection on religions in all their variety and dimensions.

Presents a statement about communication in contemporary life. This title offers a comprehensive appraisal of mass communication. It provides a critical perspective on media and communication in society. It contains critical insights into the state of mass communication, democracy, and the construction of the self in society.

In a clear and readable style, Living with Theory maps out contemporary theory, tracing its complex configurations, its political preoccupations, and its relations with literature.

The Future of Christian Theology represents a personal manifesto from one of the world's leading theologians, exploring the ways Christian theology in the twenty-first century has been, and can now continue to be, both creative and wise.