Modernist Parasites - Bioethics, Dependency, and Literature, Post-1900

This book analyzes the unstable, shifting perceptions of parasites in biological and social settings after 1900. It argues that "parasite" is a dangerous label for nonhuman animals and minorities, yet many modernist writers reimagine the parasite as the embodiment of dependency in a posthumanist world.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

List of Figures

Introduction

Chapter 1: Contagion, Pests, and Parasites in Trench Poetry

Chapter 2: "The Million Enemies of the Earth": Parasitism and Poverty in Great Depression Literature

Chapter 3: "Monstrous Vermin": Becoming the Modernist Parasite

Chapter 4: "Parasitism & Prostitution-Or Negation": The Parasite in Modernist Feminism

Chapter 5: The Tramp: Social Parasitism, Vagrancy, and Health

Epilogue

Bibliography

About the Author

About the author

Sebastian Williams is assistant professor of English at Davis & Elkins College.

Summary

This book analyzes the unstable, shifting perceptions of parasites in biological and social settings after 1900. It argues that “parasite” is a dangerous label for nonhuman animals and minorities, yet many modernist writers reimagine the parasite as the embodiment of dependency in a posthumanist world.

Product details

• Authors: Sebastian Williams, Williams Sebastian
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.09.2023
• EAN: 9781666921298
• ISBN: 978-1-66692-129-8
• No. of pages: 208
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Posthumanities and Citizenship Futures
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Non-fiction book; LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / Nature, NATURE / Animals / Insects & Spiders, natural history, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / General, Nature & the natural world: general interest, Literature: history & criticism, Literary studies: general, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Wildlife: butterflies, other insects & spiders