Evolution, Literature, and Film: A Reader (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780231150194)

Featuring thirty-nine essential essays by pioneering scholars, scientists, and critics, Evolution, Literature, and Film opens with an introduction to the principles of evolution, with essays from Charles Darwin on the logic of natural selection, Richard Dawkins on the genetic revolution of modern evolutionary theory, Edward O. Wilson on the unity of knowledge, Steven Pinker on the transformation of psychology into an explanatory science, and David Sloan Wilson on the integration of evolutionary theory into cultural critique. Later sections include essays on the adaptive function of the arts, discussions of evolutionary literary theory and film theory, interpretive commentaries on specific works of literature and film, and analyses using empirical methods to explore literary problems. Texts under the microscope include folk- and fairy tales; Homer's Iliad; Shakespeare's plays; works by William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, Emily Bront , and Zora Neale Hurston; narratives in sci-fi, comics, and slash fiction; and films from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Each essay explains the contribution of evolution to a study of the human mind, human behavior, culture, and art.

Author: Brian Boyd
ISBN-10: 0231150199
ISBN-13: 9780231150194
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/10/2010
Pages: 584
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.80lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 12/01/2010