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The book offers an interdisciplinary approach to a subject that has largely been the province of religious studies and philosophy. Tackling the function of evil across social contexts rather than seeking a definition of evil, this collection explores the use of the term "evil" in multiple eras, genres, and disciplines.
List of contents
Introduction
Brian Johnson and Malcah Effron
1. Villainous Victimhood in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"
Chu-chueh Cheng
2. The Winter's Tale: Art and Redemption from Evil
Olivia Coulomb
3. Guilt, Evil, and Hell in Doctor Faustus and Macbeth
Jamey Hecht
4. Seasonal Villainy: Radical Evil, Relativity and Redemptive Relationships
Charity Fowler
5. The Name-of-the-Monster: Interpellation and the Construction of Evil
Jim Casey
6. The Communicative Force of Evil: The Case of Stephen King
Jessica Folio
7. When Real Life Isn't Evil Enough for Fiction: French Postwar Literature and the Relationship between Evil and Sexuality
Marian Duval
8. Poison and Antidote: Evil and the Hero-Villain Binary in Deon Meyer's Post-Apartheid Crime Thriller, Devil's Peak
Sam Naidu and Karlien van der Wielen
9. Ghosts of the Old South: The Evils of Slavery and the Haunted House in Royal Street
Brian Johnson
10. Ace in the Hole and Its Public: Evil and the News Spectacle
Julie Michot
11. The Evil Foreigner: Marvel Villains and the American National Identity from World War II to the War on Terror
Joanna Nowotny and Bettina Jossen
12. Tribalism and the Use of Evil in Modern Politics
Riven Barton
13. A "Fiend Incarnate": Sin, Science, and the Problem of Evil in the New American Nation
Jeffrey Mullins
About the author
Malcah Effron is lecturer in the Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Brian Johnson is assistant professor of humanities at Cuyohoga Community College
Summary
The book offers an interdisciplinary approach to a subject that has largely been the province of religious studies and philosophy. Tackling the function of evil across social contexts rather than seeking a definition of evil, this collection explores the use of the term "evil" in multiple eras, genres, and disciplines.
