Literary Spaces in the Selected Works of J.M. Coetzee

This book closely examines the processes governing the construction of literary spaces in the selected works of J.M. Coetzee, focusing in particular on the writer's subversive and destructive treatment of traditional modes of representation which participated in the imperial enterprise and served to overcome the ontological insecurity of colonisers. This strategy results in the formation of heterogenous, fluid and open locations which can be deciphered along the postmodern spatial theories of Foucault, Augé, Deleuze and Guattari. The transformation of topographies not only cleanses them of the conventional residue in preparation for alternative spatial rearrangements, but also initiates processes which reverse the colonising project by breaching the gap between the other and the self.

Autorentext

Katarzyna Karwowska studied English Language and Literature at the Wroclaw University. Her main scholarly interests include postcolonial writing and theory, postmodern theories of space, cultural geography and environmental criticism.

Inhalt

Contents: J.M. Coetzee - South Africa - Spatial conventions - Pastoral - Anti-pastoral - Post-pastoral - Plaasroman - Eco-criticism - Space - Place - Postmodern spatial theories - Heterotopias - Smooth space - Non-place - Michel Foucault - Marc Augé - Félix Guattari - Gilles Deleuze - Becoming - House - Farm - The city - The country - The other - Unhomeliness - Micro place - Descartes.