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The Rites of Assent Sacvan Bercovitch

The Rites of Assent By Sacvan Bercovitch

The Rites of Assent by Sacvan Bercovitch


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Summary

This book traces the manifold functions of 'America' - as a view of history, a spiritual ideal, a myth of origins and a mode of identity, in the work of major influential writers from the Revolution to the Civil War.

The Rites of Assent Summary

The Rites of Assent: Transformations in the Symbolic Construction of America by Sacvan Bercovitch

The Rites of Assent examines the cultural strategies through which America served as a vehicle simultaneously for diversity and cohesion, fusion and fragmentation. Taking an ethnographic, cross-cultural approach, The Rites of Assent traces the meanings and purposes of America back to the colonial typology of mission, and specifically (in chapters on Puritan rhetoric, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and the movement from Revival to Revolution) to the legacy of early New England.

The Rites of Assent Reviews

Rites of Assent may be not only Sacvan Bercovitch's most accessible book, but his most important as well. In it Bercovitch applies his influential earlier analysis of the Puritan jeremiad, the Puritan self, and the ideology of American liberal consensus to a wider range of American literature and culture. Rites of Assent will obviously be required reading for Americanists in every field. -- Gerald Graff, George M. Pullman Professor of English and Education
For thirty years, Bercovitch has been our most insightful and provocative critic of American culture and literature. Our leading intellectual historian and discourse theorist, he has shattered the myths, exposed the hidden rituals, and explicated the religious and political rhetoric that have mystified millions for two centuries. These essays will again awaken his audience to the delusions of the American dream and leave some wishing they could go back to sleep. -- Emory Elliott, Presidential Chair of English, University of California

About Sacvan Bercovitch

Sacvan Bercovitch is Carswell Professor of English at Harvard University and is currently the General Editor of the multi-volume Cambridge History of American Literature. His previous books include The PuritanOrigins of the American Self, The American Jeremiad, and The Office The Scarlet Letter.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: The Music of America 2. The Ritual of Consensus 3. The Ends of Puritan Rhetoric 4. Cotton Mather and the Vision of America 5. The Typology of Mission, from Edwards to Independence 6. Continuing Revolution: George Bancroft and the Myth of Progress 7. The Return of Hester Prynne 8. Pierre , or the Ambiguities of Literary History 9. Emerson, Individualism, and Liberal Dissent 10. The Problem of Ideology in American Literary Studies Endnotes Index

Additional information

GOR008903107
9780415900157
0415900158
The Rites of Assent: Transformations in the Symbolic Construction of America by Sacvan Bercovitch
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Taylor & Francis Ltd
1992-11-10
432
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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