Adorno's Aesthetics as a Literary Theory of Art

This book re-examines Adorno's aesthetics, developing a new literary approach that aims to unveil hidden elements of Adorno's thought. Farina proposes to read Adorno's aesthetics as a literary theory of art, showing its efficacy in its comprehension of the most advanced trends of contemporary literature. As a result, this book provides an image of Adorno's aesthetics as a complete, satisfying and consistent philosophy of literature, a robust theory which is able to stand its ground in contemporary aesthetic debate. Challenging the prevalent prejudice that defines Adorno's thought, and especially his aesthetics, as 'modernist', Farina argues that Adorno's philosophy of literature shows its value precisely in its application to and comprehension of postmodern literature, such as the works of Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo and David Foster Wallace. Precise and compelling, this book provides a new paradigm for understanding Adorno's theory of artwork, serving as an essentialreference for researches investigating the relation between classical critical theory and contemporary art.

Provides a new paradigm for understanding Adorno's theory of artwork Provides an image of Adorno's aesthetics as a complete, satisfying and consistent philosophy of literature Argues that Adorno's philosophy of literature shows its value precisely in its application to and comprehension of postmodern literature

Autorentext
Dr. Mario Farina is Postdoc Fellow in history of philosophy at the University of Florence, Italy, and Adjunct Professor in Aesthetics at the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. His research interests include German philosophy, aesthetics and philosophy of literature. He is the author of Critica, simbolo e storia. La determinazione hegeliana dell'estetica (Pisa, 2015).

Klappentext

This book re-examines Adornös aesthetics, developing a new literary approach that aims to unveil hidden elements of Adornös thought. Farina proposes to read Adornös aesthetics as a literary theory of art, showing its efficacy in its comprehension of the most advanced trends of contemporary literature. As a result, this book provides an image of Adornös aesthetics as a complete, satisfying and consistent philosophy of literature, a robust theory which is able to stand its ground in contemporary aesthetic debate. Challenging the prevalent prejudice that defines Adornös thought, and especially his aesthetics, as modernist , Farina argues that Adorno's philosophy of literature shows its value precisely in its application to and comprehension of postmodern literature, such as the works of Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo and David Foster Wallace. Precise and compelling, this book provides a new paradigm for understanding Adornös theory of artwork, serving as an essentialreference for researches investigating the relation between classical critical theory and contemporary art.

Inhalt

1. Construction of 'Aesthetics' as Construction of 'The Aesthetic'.- 2. The Philosophy of Music and the Dissolution of the Aesthetic.- 3. Literature and the Reconstruction of the Aesthetic.- 4. Adorno's Philosophy of Literature: A Theory of Literary Interpretation.- 5. Beyond Modernism: The American Postmodern Novel.