Gender and Utopia in the Eighteenth Century: Essays in English and French Utopian Writing (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780754654353)

Focusing on eighteenth-century constructions of symbolic femininity and eighteenth-century women's writing in relation to contemporary utopian discourse, this volume adjusts our understanding of the utopia of the Enlightenment, placing a unique emphasis on colonial utopias. These essays reflect on issues related to specific configurations of utopias and utopianism by considering in detail English and French texts by both women (Sarah Scott, Sarah Fielding, Isabelle de Charrière) and men (Paltock and Montesquieu). The contributors ask the following questions: In the influential discourses of eighteenth-century utopian writing, is there a place for 'woman, ' and if so, what (or where) is it? How do 'women' disrupt, confirm, or ground the utopian projects within which these constructs occur? By posing questions about the inscription of gender in the context of eighteenth-century utopian writing, the contributors shed new light on the eighteenth-century legacies that continue to shape contemporary views of social and political progress.

Author: Brenda Tooley
ISBN-10: 0754654354
ISBN-13: 9780754654353
Publisher: Routledge
Language: English
Published: 01/28/2007
Pages: 205
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.50d