Hybrid Fictions : American Literature and Generation X

Since the 1960s, academics have theorized that literature is on its way to becoming obsolete, or, at the very least, has lost part of its power as an influential medium of social and cultural critique. This work argues against that misconception and maintains that contemporary American literature is not only alive and well, but that it has grown in significant ways that reflect changes in American culture during the last twenty years. The author's use of the term "hybrid" is similar to that of Mikhail Bakhtin; for Bakhtin, language is by definition a hybrid form and literature, most specifically the novel, is a form that allows writers to blend distinct and often opposing social languages. The author considers hybrid fictions from Modernists to Gen Xers, hybrid desires, hybrid identities and conflicting relationships, ethnic hybridity, hybrid technologies, and hypertext, the Internet and the future of printed fiction. David Foster Wallace, Richard Powers, Neal Stephenson, Douglas Coupland, Sherman Alexie, William Vollmann, Michele Serros and Dave Eggers are among those Gen Xers whose hybrid fictions are discussed. Since the 1960s, academics have theorized that literature is on its way to becoming obsolete or, at the very least, has lost part of its power as an influential medium of social and cultural critique. This work argues against that misconception and maintains that contemporary American literature is not only alive and well but has grown in significant ways that reflect changes in American culture during the last twenty years. In addition, this work argues that beginning in the 1980s, a new, allied generation of American writers, born from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, has emerged, whose hybrid fiction blend distinct elements of previous American literary movements and contain divided social, cultural and ethnic allegiances. The author explores psychological, philosophical, ethnic and technological hybridity. The author also argues for the importance of and need for literature in contemporary America and considers its future possibilities in the realms of the Internet and hypertext. David Foster Wallace, Neal Stephenson, Douglas Coupland, Sherman Alexie, William Vollmann, Michele Serros and Dave Eggers are among the writers whose hybrid fictions are discussed. Since the 1960s, academics have theorized that literature is on its way to becoming obsolete or, at the very least, has lost part of its power as an influential medium of social and cultural critique. This work argues against that misconception and maintains that contemporary American literature is not only alive and well but has grown in significant ways that reflect changes in American culture during the last twenty years. In addition, this work argues that beginning in the 1980s, a new, allied generation of American writers, born from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, has emerged, whose hybrid fictions blend distinct elements of previous American literary movements and contain divided social, cultural and ethnic allegiances. The author explores psychological, philosophical, ethnic and technological hybridity. The author also argues for the importance of and need for literature in contemporary America and considers its future possibilities in the realms of the Internet and hypertext. David Foster Wallace, Neal Stephenson, Douglas Coupland, Sherman Alexie, William Vollmann, Michele Serros and Dave Eggers are mong the writers whose hybrid fictions are discussed. Contenido 2 Introducción 3 1 From Modernists To Gen Xers 6 2 Hybrid Desires 19 3 Hybrid Identities and Conflicting Relationships 42 4 Ethnic Hybridity 53 5 Hybrid Technologies 65 6 Hypertext, the Internet and the Future of Printed Fiction 88 Notas 94 Bibliografía 100 Índice palabras clave 103 Arguing against the misconception that literature is becoming obsolete, this work suggests that not only is American literature alive and well, but that it has grown in significant ways to reflect changes in American culture during the last 20 years.