Description:
In a world where the acceptance of relativism has caused erosion in the tradition of Cartesian dualism, representationalism in the arts has come under serious questioning. The contributors to this book seek new standards for defining and evaluating works of art.
Relativism in the Arts brings together thinkers in the fields of music, art criticism, literary criticism, philosophy, and the "history of consciousness" to confront the problems of relativist aesthetics. Their essays range from theoretical discussions of the definition of art in our times to close examinations of particular artworks or art forms. The introduction by Betty Jean Craige presents reasons for the cultural self-reflectivity that gives rise to the peculiarities of modern art.Brief description: BETTY JEAN CRAIGE was the University Professor of Comparative Literature and director of the Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia. She is the author of several books on the subject of holism, including Reconnection: Dualism to Holism in Literary Study, Laying the Ladder Down: The Emergence of Cultural Holism, and American Patriotism in a Global Society.
Review Quotes:
Boldly simplifying in the cause of readability and therefore polemical impact, Craige analyzes how the humanities and especially literary criticism have guided themselves into splendid, intellectually sophisticated, and mirrored isolation.
--American Literature