Overview
Sade’s Sensibilities tells a new story of one of the most enduring and controversial figures in European literature. Blending ideas about subjectivity, identity and natural philosophy with politics and pornography, D.A.F. de Sade has fascinated writers and readers for two hundred years, and his materialist account of the human condition has been widely influential in post-structuralism, nihilism, and feminism. This new collection of essays considers Sade’s Enlightenment legacy, both within and beyond the narratives of radicalism and aberration that have historically marked the study of his oeuvre. From different points of view, these essays argue that Sade engaged with and influenced traditional Enlightenment paradigms—particularly those related to sensibility, subjectivity, and philosophy—as much as he resisted them. They thus recover a Sade more relevant, even foundational to our twenty-first century understanding of modernity, selfhood, and community. In Sade’s Sensibilities Sade is no longer a solitary, peripheral radical, but an Enlightenment philosopher in his own right.
Full Product Details
Author: Kate Parker ,
Norbert Sclippa ,
Mladen Kozul ,
Will McMorran
Publisher: Bucknell University Press
Imprint: Bucknell University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.90cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 21.80cm
Weight: 0.386kg
ISBN: 9781611486469
ISBN 10: 1611486467
Pages: 222
Publication Date: 21 November 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.
Reviews
Published to commemorate the bicentennial of D. A. F. de Sade's death, this collection of essays argues that the 21st century deserves a more complete picture of Sade. Parker and Sclippa present the essays in two sections: 'Thinking, Feeling, Reading Sade' and 'In Pursuit of D. A. F. de Sade.' Part 1 focuses on common themes in Sadean scholarship-apathy, perversion, obscenity, and the carnivalesque. The contributors demonstrate that Sade uses these themes as a means of political critique of the Revolution, rather than simply to titillate. The essays in part 2 present Sade as an individual who was firmly part of the Enlightenment, rather than lurking on the boundaries. Moreover, in this section, the authors argue that in addition to being a product of his era, Sade's writings on materialism, medicine, and sexuality have the ability to reach across centuries, influencing discussions in the 21st century. As Parker notes in her introduction, 'Sade is both curious ... and a curiosity,' an author who continues to provoke. This book offers a compelling collection of writings attesting to the enduring offerings of the divin marquis. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. CHOICE
Published to commemorate the bicentennial of D. A. F. de Sade's death, this collection of essays argues that the 21st century deserves a more complete picture of Sade. Parker and Sclippa present the essays in two sections: 'Thinking, Feeling, Reading Sade' and 'In Pursuit of D. A. F. de Sade.' Part 1 focuses on common themes in Sadean scholarship—apathy, perversion, obscenity, and the carnivalesque. The contributors demonstrate that Sade uses these themes as a means of political critique of the Revolution, rather than simply to titillate. The essays in part 2 present Sade as an individual who was firmly part of the Enlightenment, rather than lurking on the boundaries. Moreover, in this section, the authors argue that in addition to being a product of his era, Sade's writings on materialism, medicine, and sexuality have the ability to reach across centuries, influencing discussions in the 21st century. As Parker notes in her introduction, 'Sade is both curious … and a curiosity,' an author who continues to provoke. This book offers a compelling collection of writings attesting to the enduring offerings of the divin marquis. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *
Author Information
Kate Parker is assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Norbert Sclippa is professor of French at the College of Charleston.
