Rise of Animals and Descent of Man, 16601800 - Toward Posthumanism in British Literature Between Descartes and Darwin

The Rise of Animals analyzes the intellectual origins of our changing attitudes about animals and illuminates major currents of eighteenth-century British literary culture. It offers new readings of works by Margaret Cavendish, William Cowper, Erasmus Darwin, and others.

List of contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: British Animal Discourse between Cartesian and Darwinian Bookends
Chapter One: On the Posthuman Character of Cavendish's Fantastic Hyphenated Creatures
Chapter Two: Cultured Children and the Natural World: Problems with Animal Sympathy in Lessons for the Rising Generation of Readers, 1730-1800
Chapter Three: Anglican Clerics and Animal Clemency, 1675-1792
Chapter Four: Cowper's Creatures: The Orpheus of Olney and His "Symptoms of Either Sex"
Chapter Five: The Other Darwin: Posthumanism's Dignified Pantomime, Eleusinian Mysteries of Evolution, and the Descent of Man in Erasmus Darwin's Temple of Nature
Bibliography
About the Author

About the author

John Morillo is associate professor of English at North Carolina State University.

Summary

The Rise of Animals analyzes the intellectual origins of our changing attitudes about animals and illuminates major currents of eighteenth-century British literary culture. It offers new readings of works by Margaret Cavendish, William Cowper, Erasmus Darwin, and others.

Product details

• Authors: John Morillo
• Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.02.2018
• EAN: 9781611496734
• ISBN: 978-1-61149-673-4
• No. of pages: 264
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 18th Century, LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / Religion, Ireland, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Literary studies: general, Religion and beliefs, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800, Literature: history and criticism