Beards and Masculinity in American Literature

Beards and Masculinity in American Literature PDF Author: Peter Ferry
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351604783
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Beards and Masculinity in American Literature is a pioneering study of the symbolic power of the beard in the history of American writing. This book covers the entire breadth of American writing – from 18th century American newspapers and periodicals through the 19th and 20th centuries to recent contemporary engagements with the beard and masculinity. With chapters focused on the barber and the barbershop in American writing, the "need for a shave" in Ernest Hemingway’s fiction, Whitman’s beard as a sanctuary for poets reaching out to the bearded bard, and the contemporary re-engagement with the beard as a symbol of Otherness in post-9/11 fiction, Beards and Masculinity in American Literature underlines the symbolic power of facial hair in key works of American writing.

Beards and Masculinity in American Literature

Beards and Masculinity in American Literature PDF Author: Peter Ferry
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351604783
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book

Book Description
Beards and Masculinity in American Literature is a pioneering study of the symbolic power of the beard in the history of American writing. This book covers the entire breadth of American writing – from 18th century American newspapers and periodicals through the 19th and 20th centuries to recent contemporary engagements with the beard and masculinity. With chapters focused on the barber and the barbershop in American writing, the "need for a shave" in Ernest Hemingway’s fiction, Whitman’s beard as a sanctuary for poets reaching out to the bearded bard, and the contemporary re-engagement with the beard as a symbol of Otherness in post-9/11 fiction, Beards and Masculinity in American Literature underlines the symbolic power of facial hair in key works of American writing.

Beards and Texts

Beards and Texts PDF Author: Sebastian Coxon
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1787352218
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Beards and Texts explores the literary portrayal of beards in medieval German texts from the mid-twelfth to the early sixteenth centuries. It argues that as the pre-eminent symbol for masculinity the beard played a distinctive role throughout the Middle Ages in literary discussions of such major themes as majesty and humanity. At the same time beards served as an important point of reference in didactic poetry concerned with wisdom, teaching and learning, and in comedic texts that were designed to make their audiences laugh, not least by submitting various figure-types to the indignity of having their beards manhandled. Four main chapters each offer a reading of a work or poetic tradition of particular significance (Pfaffe Konrad’s Rolandslied; Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Willehalm; ‘Sangspruchdichtung’; Heinrich Wittenwiler’s Ring), before examining cognate material of various kinds, including sources or later versions of the same story, manuscript variants and miniatures and further relevant beard-motifs from the same period. The book concludes by reviewing the portrayal of Jesus in vernacular German literature, which represents a special test-case in the literary history of beards. As the first study of its kind in medieval German studies, this investigation submits beard-motifs to sustained and detailed analysis in order to shed light both on medieval poetic techniques and the normative construction of masculinity in a wide range of literary genres.

Of Beards and Men

Of Beards and Men PDF Author: Christopher Oldstone-Moore
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022647920X
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Beards—they’re all the rage these days. Take a look around: from hip urbanites to rustic outdoorsmen, well-groomed metrosexuals to post-season hockey players, facial hair is everywhere. The New York Times traces this hairy trend to Big Apple hipsters circa 2005 and reports that today some New Yorkers pay thousands of dollars for facial hair transplants to disguise patchy, juvenile beards. And in 2014, blogger Nicki Daniels excoriated bearded hipsters for turning a symbol of manliness and power into a flimsy fashion statement. The beard, she said, has turned into the padded bra of masculinity. Of Beards and Men makes the case that today’s bearded renaissance is part of a centuries-long cycle in which facial hairstyles have varied in response to changing ideals of masculinity. Christopher Oldstone-Moore explains that the clean-shaven face has been the default style throughout Western history—see Alexander the Great’s beardless face, for example, as the Greek heroic ideal. But the primacy of razors has been challenged over the years by four great bearded movements, beginning with Hadrian in the second century and stretching to today’s bristled resurgence. The clean-shaven face today, Oldstone-Moore says, has come to signify a virtuous and sociable man, whereas the beard marks someone as self-reliant and unconventional. History, then, has established specific meanings for facial hair, which both inspire and constrain a man’s choices in how he presents himself to the world. This fascinating and erudite history of facial hair cracks the masculine hair code, shedding light on the choices men make as they shape the hair on their faces. Oldstone-Moore adeptly lays to rest common misperceptions about beards and vividly illustrates the connection between grooming, identity, culture, and masculinity. To a surprising degree, we find, the history of men is written on their faces.

Concerning Beards

Concerning Beards PDF Author: Alun Withey
Publisher:
ISBN: 1350213012
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Through an exploration of the history of male facial hair in England, Alun Withey underscores its complex meanings, medical implications and socio-cultural significance from the mid-17th to the early 20th century. Withey charts the gradual shift in concepts of facial hair, and shaving - away from 'formal' medicine and practice - towards new concepts of hygiene and personal grooming"--

One Thousand Beards

One Thousand Beards PDF Author: Allan Peterkin
Publisher: arsenal pulp press
ISBN: 9781551521077
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Every man has the capacity to grow facial hair, but the decision to do so has always come with layers of meaning. Facial hair has traditionally marked a passage into manhood, but its manifestations have been determined by class, religion, history and occupational status. In the end, the act of displaying facial hair is still regarded as a form of ultimate cool. With wit and insight, One Thousand Beards delves into the historical, contemporary and cultural meaning of facial hair in all of its forms, complete with numerous photographs and illustrations.

Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards

Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards PDF Author: Afsaneh Najmabadi
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520242637
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
"This book is groundbreaking, at once highly original, courageous, and moving. It is sure to have a tremendous impact in Iranian studies, modern Middle East history, and the history of gender and sexuality."—Beth Baron, author of Egypt as a Woman "This is an extraordinary book. It rereads the story of Iranian modernity through the lens of gender and sexuality in ways that no other scholars have done."—Joan W. Scott, author of Gender and the Politics of History

Women & Power

Women & Power PDF Author: Mary Beard
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1782834532
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 87

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Book Description
An updated edition of the Sunday Times Bestseller Britain's best-known classicist Mary Beard, is also a committed and vocal feminist. With wry wit, she revisits the gender agenda and shows how history has treated powerful women. Her examples range from the classical world to the modern day, from Medusa and Athena to Theresa May and Hillary Clinton. Beard explores the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, considering the public voice of women, our cultural assumptions about women's relationship with power, and how powerful women resist being packaged into a male template. A year on since the advent of #metoo, Beard looks at how the discussions have moved on during this time, and how that intersects with issues of rape and consent, and the stories men tell themselves to support their actions. In trademark Beardian style, using examples ancient and modern, Beard argues, 'it's time for change - and now!' From the author of international bestseller SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.

The Philosophy of Beards

The Philosophy of Beards PDF Author: Thomas S. Gowing
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 63

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Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Philosophy of Beards" (A Lecture Physiological, Artistic & Historical) by Thomas S. Gowing. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Masculinity in Contemporary New York Fiction

Masculinity in Contemporary New York Fiction PDF Author: Peter Ferry
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317743156
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
Masculinity in Contemporary New York Fiction is an interdisciplinary study that presents masculinity as a key thematic concern in contemporary New York fiction. This study argues that New York authors do not simply depict masculinity as a social and historical construction but seek to challenge the archetypal ideals of masculinity by writing counter-hegemonic narratives. Gendering canonical New York writers, namely Paul Auster, Bret Easton Ellis, and Don DeLillo, illustrates how explorations of masculinity are tied into the principal themes that have defined the American novel from its very beginning. The themes that feature in this study include the role of the novel in American society; the individual and (urban) society; the journey from innocence to awareness (of masculinity); the archetypal image of the absent and/or patriarchal father; the impact of homosocial relations on the everyday performance of masculinity; male sexuality; and the male individual and globalization. What connects these contemporary New York writers is their employment of the one of the great figures in the history of literature: the flâneur. These authors take the flâneur from the shadows of the Manhattan streets and elevate this figure to the role of self-reflexive agent of male subjectivity through which they write counter-hegemonic narratives of masculinity. This book is an essential reference for those with an interest in gender studies and contemporary American fiction.

The Creation of a new type of American masculinity in James' novel 'Daisy Miller'

The Creation of a new type of American masculinity in James' novel 'Daisy Miller' PDF Author: Tobias Bumm
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638171531
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Stuttgart (Institute for American Studies), language: English, abstract: Henry James was 35 years old in 1878 when he wrote "Daisy Miller". He was considered a celebrity in his home country America and also in England, which was later to become his second home. Not only was he successful in writing his novel, he also changed American literature with his masterpiece. Generations of literary critics have been dealing with "Daisy Miller" in terms of the creation of a new type of American female.1 In my paper I want to approach the novel a little differently by taking a closer look at the male protagonist Frederick Winterbourne. I would also like to take a closer look at the narrative perspective and the way Winterbourne is represented by it. Furthermore I am interested in the gender relationship between Daisy and Winterbourne and their attempts to find a way to get together. The problems arising from this, concerning Winterbourne, will lead me to the last topic, the crisis in American masculinity, the images of masculinity reflected in the novel and a way of creating a new identity of American men. A main problem is procrastination that keeps people from doing the right thing and developing as a person. Another thing I want to take a look at is the mystery Daisy as an American woman is for Winterbourne and how he deals with his insecurity. In fighting it he makes attempts to create his masculinity. James also intended to make his protagonists allegories of certain features in the American mentality and shows problems of American society in the 19th century. James takes an exemplary relationship by which he tries to depict the very tricky situation of America itself and gender-relation in America in those days. The young expatriate Winterbourne and his problems with his countrywoman Daisy Miller mirror the problematic situation of the nation. The way James employs shifts in his narration shows the reader how strange the situation is and somehow also comical. Winterbourne whose main interest is the innocence of Daisy is in bigger terms looking for America′s innocence that seemed to be lost after the end of the Civil War.