States Of Emergency: The Object Of American Studies Ebrary Project Muse Upcc Books

The contributors to this volume argue that for too long, inclusiveness has substituted for methodology in American studies scholarship. The ten original essays collected here call for a robust comparativism that is attuned theoretically to questions of both space and time. States of Emergency asks readers to engage in a thought experiment: imagine that you have an object you want to study. Which methodologies will contextualize and explain your selection? What political goals are embedded in your inquiry? This thought experiment is taken up by contributors who consider an array of objects--the weather, cigarettes, archival material, AIDS, the enemy, extinct species, and torture. The essayists recalibrate the metrics of time and space usually used to measure these questions. In the process, each contributes to a project that redefines the object of American studies, reading its history as well as its future across, against, even outside the established grain of interdisciplinary practice. Contributors: Srinivas Aravamudan, Duke University Ian Baucom, Duke University Chris Castiglia, The Pennsylvania State University Russ Castronovo, University of Wisconsin-Madison Wai Chee Dimock, Yale University Nan Enstad, University of Wisconsin-Madison Susan Gillman, University of California, Santa Cruz Rodrigo Lazo, University of California, Irvine Robert S. Levine, University of Maryland Anne McClintock, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kenneth W. Warren, University of Chicago "The contributors to this volume argue that for too long, inclusiveness has substituted for methodology in American studies scholarship. The ten original essays collected here call for a robust comparativism that is attuned theoretically to questions of both space and time." "States of Emergency asks readers to engage in a thought experiment: imagine that you have an object you want to study. Which methodologies will contextualize and explain your selection? What political goals are embedded in your inquiry? This thought experiment is taken up by contributors who consider an array of objects - the weather, cigarettes, archival material, AIDS, the enemy, extinct species, and torture. The essayists recalibrate the metrics of time and space usually used to measure these questions. In the process, each contributes to a project that redefines the object of American studies, reading its history as well as its future across, against, even outside the established grain of Introduction: The Study Of The American Problems / Russ Castronovo & Susan Gillman -- Rogue States And Emergent Disciplines / Srinivas Aravamudan -- Migrant Archives : New Routes In And Out Of American Studies / Rodrigo Lazo -- Toxicity And The Consuming Subject / Nan Enstad -- Past Burning : The (post-)traumatic Memories Of (post-)queer Theory / Christopher Castiglia -- Paranoid Empire : Specters From Guantánamo And Abu Ghraib / Anne Mcclintock -- Taking The Measure Of The Black Atlantic / Kenneth W. Warren -- Cicero's Ghost : The Atlantic, The Enemy, And The Laws Of War / Ian Baucom -- World History According To Katrina / Wai Chee Dimock -- American Studies In An Age Of Extinction / Robert S. Levine. Edited By Russ Castronovo And Susan Gillman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Introduction: The study of the American problems / Russ Castronovo and Susan Gillman Rogue states and emergent disciplines / Srinivas Aravamudan Migrant archives : new routes in and out of American studies / Rodrigo Lazo Toxicity and the consuming subject / Nan Enstad Past burning : the (post-)traumatic memories of (post-)queer theory / Christopher Castiglia Paranoid empire : specters from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib / Anne McClintock Taking the measure of the black atlantic / Kenneth W. Warren Cicero's ghost : the atlantic, the enemy, and the laws of war / Ian Baucom World history according to Katrina / Wai Chee Dimock American studies in an age of extinction / Robert S. Levine. Arguing for a new methodology in American studies scholarship, contributors here call for a consideration of both space and time. Essays discussing topics such as weather, cigarettes, archival material, AIDS, the enemy, extinct species, and torture demonstrate a way to study American culture by reading its history as well as its future