Fault Lines of Modernity

The project undertaken in Fault Lines of Modernity: The Fractures and Repairs of Religion, Ethics, and Literature is, by nature of its subject, large, complex, and at times contradictory. It is also fascinating, compelling, and thought provoking. * Recherche Littéraire *
This thoughtful collection of essays raises important questions about the role of literature and religion in today's fractured world, inviting us to rethink the boundaries that have been constructed between religion, ethics and literature and to broaden our vision beyond the traditions of Western culture. * Susan Bassnett, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, University of Warwick, UK, and Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Glasgow, UK *
Against prevailing trends, Fault Lines of Modernity shows the power of reading great literature to engage urgent ethical and religious problems. From mystery fiction to mysticism, the works examined here provide sites of transcendence that expose modern divisions and ways to overcome them. * Brian Britt, Professor of Religion and Culture, Virginia Tech, USA *
What does it mean to study literature in our time of crisis? What could or should it mean? A shared commitment to critical self-awareness and reflection on the grounds and aims of literary study unifies the diversity of perspectives represented here, which take a distinctive approach to famous (or infamous) disputes regarding literature’s ambitions. The contested boundaries among literature, religion, and ethics serve as the starting point; the essays navigate these boundaries, and the tensions between assumptions of universality, on the one hand, and the rights of the marginalized and the irreducibly particular, on the other. The journeys through this fraught terrain draw our attention back to what has always been at stake: the complexity of human needs in times of cultural crisis, and literature’s potential role in their redemption. * Susan McReynolds, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Northwestern University, USA *