ACT 23 – Rethinking the Humanities
Editors: Ricardo Gil Soeiro / Sofia Tavares
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Year: 2012
Price: 44,73€
“In what we consider to be a timely collection of essays, the volume Rethinking the Humanities: Paths and Challenges tries to reflect upon the present condition of the humanities and their manifold challenges, acutely dramatized in an era of increasing contingency and globalization. By drawing upon a wide variety of perspectives and areas of research (from literary studies to philosophy, from cultural criticism to the history of ideas), we hope to surpass the now dominant rhetoric of crisis (as it features, for example, in George Steiner’s essay ‘Humanities – At Twilight?’), not only by devising new horizons for a humanistic-literary culture (Cândido de Oliveira Martins) and envisioning literary studies in a Post-literary age (David Damrosch), but also by advocating an ethical turn for the humanities (Peter Levine and José Pedro Serra) – seen as an education toward autonomy (Richard Wolin), as well as by reconsidering the very notion of crisis within the humanities (Marjorie Perloff and António Sousa Ribeiro). By doing so, and whilst it does not claim to offer definitive answers, the volume nevertheless strives to open up new fields of debate and innovative perspectives.”
– The editors
Editors’ Introduction
- Rethinking the Humanities, Ricardo Gil Soeiro and Sofia Tavares (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Part I. Questioning the Humanities
- Chapter One
Humanities between Science and Art, Paul Ricoeur (philosopher, France) - Chapter Two
Humanities-At Twilight?, George Steiner (Churchill College, Cambridge, UK) - Chapter Three
Crisis in the Humanities, Marjorie Perloff (Stanford University, USA)
Part II. New Horizons for the Humanities
- Chapter Four
The End of the Book? Literary Studies in a Post-Literary Age, 1960/2010/2060, David Damrosch (Harvard University, USA) - Chapter Five
The ‘Crisis of the Humanities’ Reconsidered, António Sousa Ribeiro (University of Coimbra, Portugal) - Chapter Six
Education Toward Autonomy, Richard Wolin (CUNY, New York, USA) - Chapter Seven
New Horizons for a Humanistic-literary Culture, Cândido de Oliveira Martins (Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Braga, Portugal) - Chapter Eight
An Ethical Turn for the Humanities, Peter Levine (Tufts University, USA) - Chapter Nine
Living at Prometheus’ Shadow, José Pedro Serra (University of Lisbon, Portugal)