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This far-ranging study develops Morson's concept of "prosaics," which stresses the importance of ordinary events and the novel's unique ability to portray them. Arguing that time is open and contingency real, Morson develops a "prosaics of process" showing how some masterpieces have found an alternative to structure. His well-known pseudonym Alicia Chudo, the inventor of "misanthropology," explores the disturbing philosophical content of laughter, disgust, and even empathy. Northwestern University's most popular professor, Morson attributes declining student interest in literature to current teaching methods. He argues in favor of showing how literature fosters empathy with people unlike ourselves. Ever playful, Morson explores the relation of games to wit, which expresses the power of the mind to triumph over contingency in the social world.
About the author
Gary Saul Morson (PhD Yale University) is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Northwestern University. His study Narrative and Freedom: The Shadows of Time (1996) won a best book award from the American Comparative Literature Association. He is also the author of Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a Prosaics (co-authored with Caryl Emerson, 1990), Anna Karenina in Our Time: Seeing More Wisely (2007), and The Words of Others: From Quotations to Culture (2011).
Summary
Gary Saul Morson’s ideas about life and literature have long inspired, annoyed, and provoked specialists and general readers. His work on “prosaics” (his coinage) argues that life’s defining events are not grand but ordinary, and that the world’s fundamental state is mess. Viewing time as a “field of possibilities”, he maintains that contingency and freedom are real.
Additional text
“Morson epitomizes the elusive scholar/teacher, equally comfortable theorizing about literature (particularly the novel) and teaching us how to teach in a way that captivates and fascinates students of all levels. His trademark wit is everywhere in evidence in this delightful and wide-ranging collection that shows he belongs to the ranks of the greatest scholars and readers of literature, on a level with Frank Kermode and Wayne Booth.”
