The Cambridge Companion to Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Politics addresses the political contexts in which nineteenth-century American literature was conceived, consumed, and criticized. Individual chapters examine how US literature from this period engaged with broad political concepts and urgent political issues, such as liberalism, conservatism, radicalism, nationalism, communitarianism, sovereignty, religious liberty, partisanship and factionalism, slavery, segregation, immigration, territorial disputes, voting rights, gendered spheres, and urban/rural tensions. Chapters on literary genres and forms show how poetry, drama, fiction, oratory, and nonfiction participated in political debate. The volume's introduction situates these chapters in relation to two larger disciplines, the history of political thought and literary history. This Companion provides a valuable resource for students and instructors interested in Nineteenth-Century American literature and politics.

This volume addresses the political contexts in which nineteenth-century U.S. literature was conceived, consumed, and criticized.

About the Author
John D. Kerkering is Professor of English at Loyola University, Chicago. His first book, The Poetics of National and Racial Identity in Nineteenth-Century American Literature (2003) was a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. He has published essays in American Literature, Studies in Romanticism, and Victorian Poetry. His latest book is Racial Rhapsody: The Aesthetics of Contemporary US Identity (2019).

Reviews
'... an excellent study.' David McAllister, Victorian Studies



Book Information
ISBN 9781108841894
Author John D. Kerkering
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press