Patell Cyrus. Cosmopolitanism and the Literary Imagination

New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. — 200 p. — ISBN10: 0312233876; ISBN13: 978-0312233877Cosmopolitanism is now understood as a perspective that regards human difference as an opportunity to be embraced rather than a problem to be solved. Here, Cyrus K. Patell asks does this perspective lie behind all "great" literature, which asks its readers to experience otherness by opening themselves up to another person's words and thoughts? Through analyses of contemporary theories of cosmopolitanism and literary texts such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Heart of Darkness, Lilith's Brood, Moby-Dick, Othello, and Ragtime, this book explores the cosmopolitan impulses behind the literary imagination.Crossing Boundaries of Culture and Thought
Religious Belief
Historical Fiction
Speculative Fiction
Animal StudiesConclusion: Why to Read and How