Failure Narratives Beyond Redemption

Twentieth Century Literature and Film
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-21525-7
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 208 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Comparative Literature

The book focuses on the concept of non-redemptive failure, a type of failure that is not part of a larger narrative of success or narrative redemption, with attention to how the concept functions between literature, critical theory, and other fields. Examining literature and film from mid-twentieth century Poland, Italy, and the United States, it traces productive effects of failure which cannot survive into the future, yet have an important, transformative impact in the moment in which they occur. The book engages with the work of John Williams, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Bruno Jasienski, proposing a theory of failure at the intersection of literary study, performance theory, and political thought. In discussing these examples, the book examines the place of failure in the broader context of modern and contemporary US American, Italian, and Polish literary and cultural traditions. Because of its interdisciplinary potential, this study might appeal to readers in art history, philosophy, political theory, and other fields within the humanities and social sciences. The book offers a framework which could not only spotlight the contribution of literary studies to the topic, in the form of narrative analysis, but could also become part of the theoretical apparatus for further research in these fields.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rowinski, Krzysztof

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Failure and Its Never-lasting Effects, Chapter 1. Fail Worse: The Allure of Redemptive Failure, Chapter 2. Failure of Authorship: John Williams, Chapter 3. Failure of Progressive Politics: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Chapter 4. Failure of Revolutionary Aesthetics: Bruno Jasienski, Chapter 5. Restaging Failure, Conclusion: Putting Failure to Work?, Bibliography, Index

Über Autor(innen)

Krzysztof Rowinski is a literary comparatist working at Trinity College Dublin. He is the initiator and co-founder of the Fail Worse research network, devoted to rethinking academic approaches failure across the humanities and social sciences.