Search results for ""Author J. Allan Mitchell""

Book SynopsisA lively defence of the ethics of exemplary narrative, and a detailed account of its forms and functioning in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. Why do medieval writers routinely make use of exemplary rhetoric? How does it work, and what are its ethical and poetical values? And if Chaucer and Gower must be seen as vigorously subverting it, then why do they persist in using it? Borrowing from recent developments in ethical criticism and theory, this book addresses such questions by reconstructing a late medieval rationale for the ethics of exemplary narrative. The author argues that Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Gower's Confessio Amantis attest to the vitality of a narrative - rather than strictly normative - ethics that has roots in premodern traditions of practical reason and rhetoric. Chaucer and Gower are shown to be inheritors and respecters of an early and unexpected form of ethical pragmatism - which has profound implications for the orthodox history of ethics in the West. Recipient of the 2008 John H. Fisher Award forsignificant contribution to the field of Gower Studies. Dr J. ALLAN MITCHELL teaches in the Department of English, University of Victoria.Trade ReviewA very interesting book [from which] Chaucer critics are sure to benefit. * ANGLIA *Thoughtful and interesting. [...] Throughout this accomplished study Mitchell's reading of both Chaucer and Gower is attentive and acute. * MEDIUM AEVUM *An important new book. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *[A] fine and thoughtful contribution. ENGLISH STUDIES, vol. 89, no. 3, June 2008 * . *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Becoming Human is a remarkable book, well nigh unclassifiable. This is an exemplary work in more than one sense: it opens up a new approach to the medieval period by way of its three examples; and it does so in a way that is a model of scholarship, keeping its balance between the responsible and the adventurous. While the book illuminates certain aspects of the medieval period, it does so in a way that also illuminates our own." —Peter Schwenger, author of At the Borders of Sleep: On Liminal Literature "This work makes one of the most important contributions that can currently be made to emerging work in post-continental philosophy. It offers fresh insights and perspectives to speculative realist thought that will actually help that thought to continue its important mission of disrupting settled overly human-centric ontologies, while also valuably correcting its historical blind-spots." —Eileen A. Joy, coeditor of Speculative Medievalisms "No work of scholarship has so engrossed me in a long while.Becoming Human is one of the best books published in medieval studies in the past decade—and considering how many excellent works have appeared over that time, that, I think, is very high praise." —J J Cohen, author of Stories of Stone: An Ecology of the Inhuman in his blog “In the Middle”"No work of scholarship has so engrossed me in a long while. Becoming Human is one of the best books published in medieval studies in the past decade."—J J Cohen, In the Middle blog"Becoming Human. . . offers new insights into play and society during medieval times and contributes substantially to revitalizing the study of medieval history. "—American Journal of Play"Deserves praise for intellectual courage, academic rigor, and interpretative creativity. "—Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth Table of ContentsContentsPrefaceIntroductionBeing BornChildish ThingsThe MessEpilogueNotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom medieval to modern, exploring instrumental attitudes toward physical gadgets, diagrams, concepts, methods, and disciplines Opening up the instrumental condition of the human for critical reflection and renewal, Instrumentality illuminates key moments in the intellectual history of the European Middle Ages. J. Allan Mitchell reveals how, in the predigital past, we can recognize many of the operative technics, analytics, and metaphorics that continue to shape human sense and cognition today. Exploring the diverse modalities of medieval instruments, Mitchell’s case studies encompass techniques as seemingly distinct as time-keeping mechanisms, mathematical diagrams, logical syllogisms, and the literary devices of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. A cultural and intellectual history, Mitchell’s work leads readers from three-dimensional objects (physical mechanisms) to two-dimensional inscriptions (maps and diagrams) and onward to overarch

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom medieval to modern, exploring instrumental attitudes toward physical gadgets, diagrams, concepts, methods, and disciplines Opening up the instrumental condition of the human for critical reflection and renewal, Instrumentality illuminates key moments in the intellectual history of the European Middle Ages. J. Allan Mitchell reveals how, in the predigital past, we can recognize many of the operative technics, analytics, and metaphorics that continue to shape human sense and cognition today. Exploring the diverse modalities of medieval instruments, Mitchell's case studies encompass techniques as seemingly distinct as time-keeping mechanisms, mathematical diagrams, logical syllogisms, and the literary devices of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. A cultural and intellectual history, Mitchell's work leads readers from three-dimensional objects (physical mechanisms) to two-dimensional inscriptions (maps and diagrams) and onward to overarching disciplinary norms in the early liberal and

Read more less