Modernism and Cultural Conflict, 1880-1922

In Modernism and Cultural Conflict, Ann Ardis questions commonly held views of the radical nature of literary modernism. She positions the coterie of writers centered around Pound, Eliot, and Joyce as one among a number of groups in Britain intent on redefining the cultural work of literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Ardis emphasizes the ways in which modernists secured their cultural centrality, she documents their support of mainstream attitudes toward science, their retreat from a supposed valuing of scandalous sexuality in the wake of Oscar Wilde's trials in 1895, and the conservative cultural and sexual politics masked by their radical formalist poetics. She recovers key instances of opposition to modernist self-fashioning in British socialism and feminism of the period. Ardis goes on to consider how literary modernism's rise to aesthetic prominence paved the way for the institutionalization of English studies through the devaluation of other aesthetic practices. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: rethinking modernism, remapping the turn of the twentieth century 13 NOTES 22 CHAPTER 1 Beatrice Webb and the “serious" artist 27 "BUILDING CASTLES IN THE AIR": BEATRICE POTTER'S CRITIQUE OF THE NOVEL 29 A ROMANCE WITH ETHNOGRAPHY 35 THE SCIENCE OF "SERIOUS" ARTISTS 41 NOTES 52 CHAPTER 2 Inventing literary tradition, ghosting Oscar Wilde and the Victorian fin de siècle 57 1890: SHAKESPEARE VS. MRS. GRUNDY 60 1895: COMBATING CULTURAL "DEGENERATION" WITH "THE CLASSICS" 65 SHAKESPEARE THE NEW HELLENIST 73 BIRTHING MODERNISM, GHOSTING SHAKESPEARE THE NEW HELLENISTAND OSCAR WILDE 80 NOTES 83 CHAPTER 3 The Lost Girl, Tarr, and the “moment" of modernism 90 INDEFENSE OF "LITERARY" LITERACY: D. H. LAWRENCE AND THE LOST GIRL 92 "(C)LEANING UP A GREAT LOT OF RUBBISH": WYNDHAM LEWIS'S TARR AND THE MODERNISTS CASE AGAINST LITERARY REALISM 110 NOTES 120 CHAPTER 4 Mapping the middlebrow in Edwardian England 126 MAPPING THE EDWARDIAN MIDDLEBROW 131 WRITING IN THE SHADOW OF SOCIALIST, FEMINIST, AND MODERNIST COLLECTIVISM 138 NOTES 151 CHAPTER 5 "Life is not composed of watertight compartments": the New Age's critique of modernist literary specialization 155 "LET DERISSON BE OUR WELCOME" 159 "THE TRAGEDY OF THE LAST THIRTHY YEARS" REFORMIST V. REVOLUTIONARY SOICIALISM 169 NOTES 180 Conclusion: modernism and English studies in history 185 NOTES 188 Select bibliography 189 Index 195 "In Modernism and Cultural Conflict, Ann Ardis questions commonly held views of the radical nature of literary modernism. She positions the coterie of writers centered around Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and James Joyce among a number of groups in Britain intent on redefining the cultural work of literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Ardis emphasizes the ways in which these modernists secured their cultural centrality, by documenting their support of mainstream attitudes toward science, their retreat from a supposed valuing of scandalous sexuality in the wake of Oscar Wilde's trials in 1895, and the conservative cultural and sexual politics masked by their radical formalist poetics. Recovering key instances of opposition to modernist self-fashioning in British socialism and feminism of the period, Ardis considers how literary modernism's rise to aesthetic prominence paved the way for the institutionalization of English studies through the devaluation of other aesthetic practices."--Jacket. In Modernism and Cultural Conflict, Ann Ardis questions commonly held views of the radical nature of literary modernism. She positions the coterie of writers centered around Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and James Joyce among a number of groups in Britain intent on redefining the cultural work of literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Ardis emphasizes the ways in which these modernists secured their cultural centrality, by documenting their support of mainstream attitudes toward science, their retreat from a supposed valuing of scandalous sexuality in the wake of Oscar Wilde's trials in 1895, and the conservative cultural and sexual politics masked by their radical formalist poetics. Recovering key instances of opposition to modernist self-fashioning in British socialism and feminism of the period, Ardis considers how literary modernism's rise to aesthetic prominence paved the way for the institutionalization of English studies through the devaluation of other aesthetic practices. Ann Ardis questions commonly held views of radical modernism at the turn of the twentieth century. She depicts the "men of 1914," (as Wyndham Lewis called the coterie of writers centered around Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and James Joyce) as only one among a number of groups intent on redefining the cultural objectives of British literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Simultaneously, Ardis reclaims key examples of non-modernist aesthetic effort associated with British socialism and feminism of the period. It is curious that one should be asked to rewrite Sidney's Defense of Poesy in the year of grace 1913.

ardis Questions Commonly Held Views Of The Radical Nature Of Literary Modernism.