A fresh exploration of the representation of poverty and class in American literature and film, through the juxtaposition of films, writings and the unusual lives of Zora Neale Hurston, Stephen Crane, Henry Miller and Michel Foucault. The book argues for Hurston's centrality, not merely to the African-American canon, but to the American tradition.

Autorentext
KEITH GANDAL is Professor of English at Northern Illinois University, USA.

Inhalt
An Apology for Studying Class, not Culture PART I: SLUMMING DRAMA Award-Winning Hollywood Blockbusters A Shameful Look at Zora Neale Hurston PART II: ClASS AND STATUS TRAUMA Nauseating Indie Films A Spiritual Autopsy of Stephen Crane PART III: SLUMMING TRAUMA The Cult Film Fight Club Henry Miller and the Embrace of Defilement Michel Foucault's Shame: Epistemology in a Closet