by Christopher Looby (Author)
How is a nation brought into being? In a detailed examination of crucial texts of 18th-century American literature, Christopher Looby argues that the United States was self-consciously enacted through the spoken word. Historical material informs and animates theoretical texts by Derrida, Lacan, and others as Looby unravels the texts of Benjamin Franklin, Charles Brockden Brown, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge and connects them to nation-building, political discourse, and self-creation. Correcting the strong emphasis on the importance of print culture in 18th-century America, Voicing America uncovers the complex process of early American writers articulating their new nation, and reveals a body of literature and a political discourse thoroughly concerned with the power of vocal language.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 300
Edition: New
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 01 Jan 1998
ISBN 10: 0226492834
ISBN 13: 9780226492834