Law and Sexuality in Tennessee Williams’s America

Law and Sexuality in Tennessee Williams’s America PDF Author: Jacqueline O’Connor
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1611478944
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
Gender and cultural studies readings of Tennessee Williams’s work have provided diverse perspectives on his complex representations of sexuality, whether of himself as an openly gay man, or of his characters, many of whom narrate or dramatize sexual attitudes or behavior that cross heteronormative boundaries of the mid-century period. Several of these studies have positioned Williams and his work amid the public tensions in American life over roughly four decades, from 1940–1980, as notions of equality and freedom of choice challenged prejudice and repression in law and in society. To date, however, neither Williams’s homosexuality nor his persistent representations of sexual transgressions have been examined as legal matters that challenged the rule of law. Directed by legal history and informed by multiple strands of Williams’s studies criticism, textual, and cultural, this book explores the interplay of select topics defined and debated in law’s texts with those same topics in Williams’s personal and imaginative texts. By tracing the obscure and the transparent representations of homosexuality, specifically, and diverse sexualities more generally, through selected stories and plays, the book charts the intersections between Williams’s literature and the laws that governed the period. His imaginative works, backlit by his personal documents and historical and legal records from the period, underscore his preoccupation with depictions of diverse sexualities throughout his career. His use of legal language and its varied effects on his texts demonstrate his work’s multiple and complex intersection with major twentieth-century concerns, including significant legal and cultural dialogues about identity formation, intimacy, privacy, and difference.

Tennessee Williams, T-shirt Modernism and the Refashionings of Theater

Tennessee Williams, T-shirt Modernism and the Refashionings of Theater PDF Author: S. E. Gontarski
Publisher: Anthem Press
ISBN: 1785276883
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Tennessee Williams, T-shirt Modernism and the Refashionings of Theater reappraises the received wisdom that Williams’s work fell into decline in the late 1960 as the Naturalism he was associated with, not always through his own choice, was replaced by European theatrical experimentalism and as culture saw a lifting of sexual restrictions. It suggests, instead, that Williams was always experimental, always more Chekhov than Ibsen, a lyrical playwright inflected with the poetry of Harte Crane, and that his late plays are as central to Williams’s reshaping of American theater as those works of the immediate post–World War II era that brought him fame and fortune. Its general aim, then, is to engage the perception that “Tennessee Williams is the greatest unknown playwright America has produced” (David Savran, City University of New York). In many respects the work of Tennessee Williams, after a protracted period of neglect, is primed for reappraisal , reinterpretations and, subsequently, re-stagings. This work is part of that process, academically at very least, but performatively as well as academic reinterest often regenerates theatrical reinterest.

Law and Sexuality in Tennessee Williams's America

Law and Sexuality in Tennessee Williams's America PDF Author: Jacqueline O'Connor
Publisher: Law, Culture, and the Humaniti
ISBN: 9781611478952
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
This book explores the diverse representation of sexualities in Tennessee Williams's texts and argues for his creative response to the increase, prior to and following World War II, in criminal prosecution of transgressive sexual activity. It expands longstanding scholarly assessments of Williams's work, using the law as a framework to assess this writer's role as a cultural, political, and legal force participating in the normalization of diverse sexualities, during his lifetime and beyond.

Ex-Centric Souths

Ex-Centric Souths PDF Author: Urszula Niewiadomska-Flis
Publisher: Universitat de València
ISBN: 8491345639
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
“Ex-Centric Souths: (Re)Imagining Southern Centers and Peripheries” adds a voice in ongoing attempts to chart new routes and to decenter the South in many ways in the hope of exploring Southern identity and multiple Souths. The articles collected in this volume bring to the forefront the translocal and transnational connections and relationships between the South and the circum-Caribbean region; they address the changing nature of Southernness, and especially its sense of place, and finally they investigate the potential of various texts to narrate and revisit regional concerns. Some contributions hold up to view topics ignored and marginalized, while other decontextualize themes and issues central to Southern studies by telling alternative histories.

Inscapes of Intimacy: Exploring the Dynamics of Relationships in the Select Plays of Tennessee Williams

Inscapes of Intimacy: Exploring the Dynamics of Relationships in the Select Plays of Tennessee Williams PDF Author: Anik Das
Publisher: BFC Publications
ISBN: 9357647120
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Inscapes of Intimacy: Exploring the Dynamics of Relationships in the Select Plays of Tennessee Williams is an odyssey into the captivating world of Tennessee Williams' literary brilliance as this thought-provoking analysis unravels the intricacies of human connections within his acclaimed plays, The Glass Menagerie (1944), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), The Rose Tattoo (1951) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). The book skillfully dissects the complex web of relationships depicted in Williams' plays, through pressing issues like gender and sexuality that form and inform the conceptual matrix of this study. From the lens of feminism, the exploration of man-woman relationships unveils layers of societal dynamics, while a critical assessment of woman-woman relationships offers a fresh perspective on empowerment and camaraderie. Delving into man-man relationships, the book courageously examines the portrayal of the homosexual psyche, shedding light on Williams' bold and groundbreaking portrayals. As the exploration deepens, the spotlight shifts to the theme of women, sexuality, and strangers, illuminating the transformative journeys of female characters in their pursuit of self-discovery and autonomy. Each chapter offers a profound understanding of Williams' multidimensional characters, evoking empathy and recognition of the human spirit within his plays. The book is not just an academic investigation but a profound encounter with the timeless themes of love, desire, and vulnerability that find expression in Tennessee Williams' plays. Delving into the profound insights of the playwright's works, this book presents a compelling tapestry of emotions, drama, and human spirit, leaving readers with a richer understanding of both Williams' genius and the complexities of human relationships. For scholars, theater enthusiasts, and anyone captivated by the power of storytelling, this book offers a deeply rewarding expedition into the heart of Tennessee Williams' enduring artistic legacy.

Monsters, Law, Crime

Monsters, Law, Crime PDF Author: Caroline Joan "Kay" S. Picart
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1683930800
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Monsters, Law, Crime, an edited collection composed of essays written by prominent U.S. and international experts in Law, Criminology, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication and Film, constitutes a rigorous attempt to explore fertile interdisciplinary inquiries into “monsters” and “monster-talk,” and law and crime. This edited collection explores and updates contemporary discussions of the emergent and evolving frontiers of monster theory in relation to cutting-edge research on law and crime as extensions of a Gothic Criminology. This theoretical framework was initially developed by Caroline Joan “Kay” S. Picart, a Philosophy and Film professor turned Attorney and Law professor, and Cecil Greek, a Sociologist (Picart and Greek 2008). Picart and Greek proposed a Gothic Criminology to analyze the fertile synapses connecting the “real” and the “reel” in the flow of Gothic metaphors and narratives that abound around criminological phenomena that populate not only popular culture but also academic and public policy discourses. Picart's edited collection adapts the framework to focus predominantly on law and the social sciences.

Gender Justice and the Law

Gender Justice and the Law PDF Author: Elaine Wood
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1683932404
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Gender Justice and the Law presents a collection of essays that examines how gender, as a category of identity, must continually be understood in relation to how structures of inequality define and shape its meaning. It asks how notions of “justice” shape gender identity and whether the legal justice system itself privileges notions of gender or is itself gendered. Shaped by politics and policy, Gender Justice essays contribute to understanding how theoretical practices of intersectionality relate to structures of inequality and relations formed as a result of their interaction. Given its theme, the collection’s essays examine theoretical practices of intersectional identity at the nexus of “gender and justice” that might also relate to issues of sexuality, race, class, age, and ability.

Kafkaesque Laws, Nisour Square, and the Trials of the Former Blackwater Guards

Kafkaesque Laws, Nisour Square, and the Trials of the Former Blackwater Guards PDF Author: Marouf A. Hasian
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1683930606
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This book provides academics and lay persons with Kafkaesque readings of our memories of the 2007 Nisour Square shootings in Iraq. The author uses critical analyses of the rise of Blackwater, support for private security firms and private contracting, prosecutorial and defense preparations and the 2014 jury trial to argue that most observers have drastically underestimated the groundswell of support that existed for Erik Prince and many other defenders of military or security outsourcing. This book puts on display the cultural, legal, and political difficulties that confronted those who wanted to try former Blackwater security guards in the name of belated social justice.

Betraying Dignity

Betraying Dignity PDF Author: Orit Kamir
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1683932048
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
What do medieval knights, suicide bombers and "victimhood culture" have in common? Betraying Dignity argues that in the second decade of the twenty-first century, individuals, political parties and nations around the world are abandoning the dignity-based culture we established in the aftermath of two world wars, less than a century ago. Disappointed or intimidated, many turn their backs on the humanitarian, universalistic culture that presumes our inherent human dignity and celebrates it as the basis of every individual's equal human rights. Instead, people and nations are returning to a much older, honor-based cultural structure. Because its ancient logic and mentality take new forms (such as social network shaming and certain aspects of "victimhood culture") -- we fail to recognize them, and overlook the pitfalls of the old honor-based structure. Narrating the history of honor-based societies, this book distinguishes their underlying principle from the post-WWII notion of dignity that underlies human rights. It makes the case that in order to revive and strengthen dignity-based culture, the concept of human dignity must be defined narrowly and succinctly, and enhanced with the principle of respect. Continuing its historical and cultural narrative, the book discusses contemporary phenomena such as al-Qaeda terrorists, shaming via social network, FoMO, and some features of the emerging "victimhood culture". The book pays homage to Erich Fromm's classic Escape from Freedom.

Lawfare and the Ovaherero and Nama Pursuit of Restorative Justice, 1918–2018

Lawfare and the Ovaherero and Nama Pursuit of Restorative Justice, 1918–2018 PDF Author: Marouf A. Hasian
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1683931890
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
This book provides readers with a critical analysis of the restorative justice efforts of the Ovaherero and Nama communities in Namibia, who contend that they should receive reparations for what happened to their ancestors during, and after the 1904–1908 German-Ovaherero/Nama war. Arguing that indigenous communities who once lived in a German colony called “German South West Africa” suffered from a genocide that could be compared to the World War II Holocaust Namibian activists sued Germany and German corporations in U.S. federal courts for reparations. The author of this book uses a critical genealogical approach to all of this “lawfare” (the politicizing of the law) in order to illustrate some of the historical origins of this quest for social justice. Portions of the book also explain some of the historical and contemporary realpolitik barriers that stood in the way of Ovaherero and Nama activists who were asking for acknowledgments of the “Namibian genocide,” apologies from German officials, repatriation of human remains from colonial times as well as restitution that might help with land redistribution in today’s Namibia. This book shows many of the difficulties that confront those indigenous communities who ask twenty-first century audiences to pay restitution for large-scale colonial massacres or imperial genocides that might have taken place more than a hundred years ago.