Introduction: The United States of Apocalypse
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
12-17-2020
Publication Title
Apocalypse in American Literature and Culture
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
First page number:
1
Last page number:
14
Abstract
In addition to evoking western lands and democratic politics, the very name of America has also encouraged apocalyptic visions. The “American Dream” has not only been about the prospect of material prosperity; it has also been about the end of the world. Final forecasts constitute one of America’s oldest literary genres, extending from the eschatological theology of the New England Puritans to the revolutionary discourse of the early republic, the emancipatory rhetoric of the Civil War, the anxious fantasies of the atomic age, and the doomsday digital media of today. For those studying the history of America, renditions of the apocalypse are simply unavoidable. This collection brings together two dozen essays by prominent scholars that explore the meanings of apocalypse across different periods, regions, genres, registers, modes, and traditions of American literature and culture. It locates the logic and rhetoric of apocalypse at the very core of American literary history.
Keywords
American literature; Apocalypse interpretation; American culture; Apocalyptic literature
Disciplines
American Literature | American Studies | Arts and Humanities
Language
English
Repository Citation
Hay, J.
(2020).
Introduction: The United States of Apocalypse.
Apocalypse in American Literature and Culture
1-14.
Cambridge University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108663557.001