E Pluribus Unum: Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the Constitutional Paradox“Out of many, one.” But how do the many become one without sacrificing difference or autonomy? This problem was critical to both identity formation and state formation in late 18th- and 19th-century America. The premise of this book is that American writers of the time came to view the resolution of this central philosophical problem as no longer the exclusive province of legislative or judicial documents but capable of being addressed by literary texts as well. The project of E Pluribus Unum is twofold. Its first and underlying concern is the general philosophic problem of the one and the many as it came to be understood at the time. W. C. Harris supplies a detailed account of the genealogy of the concept, exploring both its applications and its paradoxes as a basis for state and identity formation. Harris then considers the perilous integration of the one and the many as a motive in the major literary accomplishments of 19th-century U.S. writers. Drawing upon critical as well as historical resources and upon contexts as diverse as cosmology, epistemology, poetics, politics, and Bible translation, he discusses attempts by Poe, Whitman, Melville, and William James to resolve the problems of social construction caused by the paradox of e pluribus unum by writing literary and philosophical texts that supplement the nation’s political founding documents. Poe (Eureka), Whitman (Leaves of Grass), Melville (Billy Budd), and William James (The Varieties of Religious Experience) provide their own distinct, sometimes contradictory resolutions to the conflicting demands of diversity and unity, equality and hierarchy. Each of these texts understands literary and philosophical writing as having the potential to transform-conceptually or actually-the construction of social order. This work will be of great interest to literary and constitutional scholars. |
From inside the book
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Page 21
... intent may be more obvious , as when a philosophical , deeply paradigmatic text like Whitman's Leaves of Grass ( 1860 , 3rd edition ) or William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience ( 1902 ) tries to supply terms for a ...
... intent may be more obvious , as when a philosophical , deeply paradigmatic text like Whitman's Leaves of Grass ( 1860 , 3rd edition ) or William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience ( 1902 ) tries to supply terms for a ...
Page 146
... intent or non - intent is nothing to the purpose " ( 1416 ) . Ironically , the move to shut down speculation encourages just that : Vere's rejection of plurality cannot dismiss it as a viable option for his crew , for readers of Billy ...
... intent or non - intent is nothing to the purpose " ( 1416 ) . Ironically , the move to shut down speculation encourages just that : Vere's rejection of plurality cannot dismiss it as a viable option for his crew , for readers of Billy ...
Page 210
... intent on straddling an ideology - transcendence dichotomy , a balancing act meant to avoid read- ings that dwell exclusively on either the aesthetic ( as Matthiessen does in the landmark American Renaissance [ 1947 ] ) or the ...
... intent on straddling an ideology - transcendence dichotomy , a balancing act meant to avoid read- ings that dwell exclusively on either the aesthetic ( as Matthiessen does in the landmark American Renaissance [ 1947 ] ) or the ...
Contents
Edgar Allan Poe and the Poetics of Constitution | 37 |
A Religion Which Is No Religion | 71 |
But Arent It All a Sham? | 111 |
Copyright | |
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E Pluribus Unum: Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the ... W. C. Harris Limited preview - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
actually Address American argue attempt authority basis becomes Bible Billy Budd body calls chapter character claim concern considered Constitution continued critical culture death difference discourse distinct documents edition equality Eureka exist experience fact fails federal finally founding ground hierarchy human idea ideal identity imperative individual inevitable institution integration intent interest James James's kind least Leaves less Lincoln literary logical matter means mediation Melville Melville's mind nature never notion object original particular persons philosophical pluralism pluribus unum Poe's poem poetic poetry political position possible practical present principle problem problematic produce question reference regard relation religion religious representation represents requires revision seems sense simply slavery social formation solution structure suggests theorization things thought tion translation truth Union unity universe variety Vere Whitman whole writing