Postmodern Suburban Spaces: Philosophy, Ethics, and Community in Post-War American Fiction: 2017

This book reevaluates fiction devoted to the postwar American suburb, examining the way these works imagine suburbia as a communal structure designed to advance a particular American identity. __Postmodern Suburban Spaces__ surveys works by both canonical chroniclers of the middle class experience, such as Richard Yates and John Cheever, and those who reflect suburbia’s demographic reality, including Gloria Naylor and Chang-rae Lee, to uncover a surprising reconfiguration of the suburban experience. Tracing major forms of suburban associations – racial divisions, property lines, the family, and ethnic fealty – these works depict a different mode of interaction than the stereotypical white picket fences. Joseph George draws from philosophers such as Emmanuel Levinas and Roberto Esposito to argue that these fictions assert a critical hospitality that frustrates the limited forms of association on which suburbia is based. This fiction, in turn, posits an ethical form of community that comes about when people share space together. "This book reevaluates fiction devoted to the postwar American suburbs, examining the way these works imagine suburbia as a communal structure designed to advance a particular American identity. 'Postmodern Suburban Spaces' surveys works by both canonical chroniclers of the middle class experience, such as Richard Yates and John Cheever, and those who reflect suburbia's demographic suburban experience ... Tracing major forms of suburban associations--racial divisions, property lines, the family, and ethnic fealty - these works depict a different mode of interaction than the stereotypical white picket fences. Joseph George draws from philosophers such as Emmanuel Levinas and Roberto Esposito to argue that these fictions assert a critical hospitality that frustrates the limited forms of association on which suburbia is based. This fiction, in turn, posits an ethical form of community that comes about when people share space."--Back cover Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: Nowhere to Now Here....Pages 1-41 Chapter 1: Against Fence Thinking: Welcoming the Racial Enemy....Pages 43-79 Chapter 2: My Home Is Your Home: Property, Propriety, and Neighbors....Pages 81-119 Chapter 3: Domesticated Strangers: Fissures Within the Nuclear Family....Pages 121-161 Chapter 4: Assimilation and Appropriation: Contest and Collaboration in Global Suburbia....Pages 163-181 Conclusion: Changing the Suburban Myth....Pages 183-189 Back Matter....Pages 191-206