Overview

Although the theme of blindness occurs frequently in literature, literary criticism rarely engages the experiential knowledge of people with visual impairments. The Metanarrative of Blindness counters this trend by bringing to readings of 20th-century works in English a perspective appreciative of impairment and disability. Author David Bolt examines representations of blindness in more than 40 literary works, including writing by Kipling, Joyce, Synge, Orwell, H. G. Wells, Susan Sontag, and Stephen King, shedding light on the deficiencies of these representations and sometimes revealing an uncomfortable resonance with the Anglo-American science of eugenics. What connects these seemingly disparate works is what Bolt calls “the metanarrative of blindness,” a narrative steeped in mythology and with deep roots in Western culture. Bolt examines literary representations of blindness using the analytical tools of disability studies in both the humanities and social sciences. His readings are also broadly appreciative of personal, social, and cultural aspects of disability, with the aim of bringing literary scholars to the growing discipline of disability studies, and vice versa. This truly interdisciplinary monograph is relevant to people working in literary studies, disability studies, psychology, sociology, applied linguistics, life writing, and cultural studies, as well as those with a general interest in education and representations of blindness.

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9780472119066

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Reviews

This brilliant examination of literary texts succeeds in dismantling long-lived concepts and deconstructing some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophthalmocentric world. --Disability & Society-- (10/17/2016) Part of an increasingly dynamic body of work on literary and cultural disability studies, The Metanarrative of Blindness offers a provocative critical alternative to criticism of these contemporary texts. --Modern Literature-- (09/27/2016) The Metanarrative of Blindness is an immensely valuable contribution to the field. It is already becoming a foundational text for students and scholars working on societal, cultural, and literary depictions of disability in general and blindness in particular and it undoubtedly has the potential to inspire a new wave of scholarship in this area. --Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies-- (07/26/2016) In his fascinating book through the brilliant examination of English and American literary texts D. Bolt endeavors to dismantle these concepts [of ocularcentrism and ableism] and to deconstruct some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophtalmocentric world. --Elena Nosenko-Stein, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie (New Literary Review)-- (06/14/2016) A lucid, wide-ranging, and provocative text, it offers a careful critique of the cultural narratives surrounding--and constructing--visual impairment in the twentieth century...The Metanarrative of Blindness is a valuable text for scholars across literary and cultural (disability) studies. --Hannah Tweed, H-Disability-- (05/18/2016) This is a fascinating and readable exploration of how a range of fictional and autobiographical texts represent 'blindness' and 'the blind'. Its originality lies not so much in David's discussions of the texts themselves, but more in his argument that fictional representations of blindness have created a set of myths and stereotypes of blindness which dictate how society treats the blind. --Hannah Thompson, Blind Spot -- (05/21/2014) By calling attention to the metanarrative of blindness and its implications, Bolt has produced a worthwhile and fascinating study. --;I>ALH Online Review --Christopher Krentz ALH Online Review The scope of The Metanarrative of Blindness is comprehensive and its findings convincing. The prose is eloquent and frequently witty, which will make the book accessible to disability studies scholars as well as to scholars in other fields of literary studies . . . a valuable study that advances the field and will inspire future scholarship. --Georgina Kleege, University of California, Berkeley

Part of an increasingly dynamic body of work on literary and cultural disability studies, The Metanarrative of Blindness offers a provocative critical alternative to criticism of these contemporary texts. --Modern Literature-- (09/27/2016) The Metanarrative of Blindness is an immensely valuable contribution to the field. It is already becoming a foundational text for students and scholars working on societal, cultural, and literary depictions of disability in general and blindness in particular and it undoubtedly has the potential to inspire a new wave of scholarship in this area. --Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies-- (07/26/2016) A lucid, wide-ranging, and provocative text, it offers a careful critique of the cultural narratives surrounding--and constructing--visual impairment in the twentieth century...The Metanarrative of Blindness is a valuable text for scholars across literary and cultural (disability) studies. --Hannah Tweed, H-Disability-- (05/18/2016) The scope of The Metanarrative of Blindness is comprehensive and its findings convincing. The prose is eloquent and frequently witty, which will make the book accessible to disability studies scholars as well as to scholars in other fields of literary studies . . . a valuable study that advances the field and will inspire future scholarship. --Georgina Kleege, University of California, Berkeley This brilliant examination of literary texts succeeds in dismantling long-lived concepts and deconstructing some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophthalmocentric world. --Disability & Society-- (10/17/2016) In his fascinating book through the brilliant examination of English and American literary texts D. Bolt endeavors to dismantle these concepts [of ocularcentrism and ableism] and to deconstruct some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophtalmocentric world. --Elena Nosenko-Stein, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie (New Literary Review)-- (06/14/2016) This is a fascinating and readable exploration of how a range of fictional and autobiographical texts represent 'blindness' and 'the blind'. Its originality lies not so much in David's discussions of the texts themselves, but more in his argument that fictional representations of blindness have created a set of myths and stereotypes of blindness which dictate how society treats the blind. --Hannah Thompson, Blind Spot -- (05/21/2014) By calling attention to the metanarrative of blindness and its implications, Bolt has produced a worthwhile and fascinating study. --;I>ALH Online Review --Christopher Krentz ALH Online Review

The scope of The Metanarrative of Blindness is comprehensive and its findings convincing. The prose is eloquent and frequently witty, which will make the book accessible to disability studies scholars as well as to scholars in other fields of literary studies . . . a valuable study that advances the field and will inspire future scholarship. --Georgina Kleege, University of California, Berkeley By calling attention to the metanarrative of blindness and its implications, Bolt has produced a worthwhile and fascinating study. --;I>ALH Online Review --Christopher Krentz ALH Online Review This is a fascinating and readable exploration of how a range of fictional and autobiographical texts represent 'blindness' and 'the blind'. Its originality lies not so much in David's discussions of the texts themselves, but more in his argument that fictional representations of blindness have created a set of myths and stereotypes of blindness which dictate how society treats the blind. --Hannah Thompson, Blind Spot -- (05/21/2014) In his fascinating book through the brilliant examination of English and American literary texts D. Bolt endeavors to dismantle these concepts [of ocularcentrism and ableism] and to deconstruct some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophtalmocentric world. --Elena Nosenko-Stein, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie (New Literary Review)-- (06/14/2016) Part of an increasingly dynamic body of work on literary and cultural disability studies, The Metanarrative of Blindness offers a provocative critical alternative to criticism of these contemporary texts. --Modern Literature-- (09/27/2016) A lucid, wide-ranging, and provocative text, it offers a careful critique of the cultural narratives surrounding--and constructing--visual impairment in the twentieth century...The Metanarrative of Blindness is a valuable text for scholars across literary and cultural (disability) studies. --Hannah Tweed, H-Disability-- (05/18/2016) The Metanarrative of Blindness is an immensely valuable contribution to the field. It is already becoming a foundational text for students and scholars working on societal, cultural, and literary depictions of disability in general and blindness in particular and it undoubtedly has the potential to inspire a new wave of scholarship in this area. --Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies-- (07/26/2016) This brilliant examination of literary texts succeeds in dismantling long-lived concepts and deconstructing some stereotypes which are so widespread in our ophthalmocentric world. --Disability & Society-- (10/17/2016)

Author Information

David Bolt is Associate Professor in Education Studies at Liverpool Hope University and the founding editor of the Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies.

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