Kaylie Shunk
Derek Rosenberry
Study Guide for New Historicism and Cultural Materialism
New Historicism:
v What is New Historicism?
§ It is a method formed around or based on the parallel reading of literary and non-literary texts that are mostly from the same time frame.
v There is a new and old Historicism, which they do have a difference:
§ In the phrase “the archival continuum,” archival shows the New Historicism is a Historicist rather than a Historical Movement.
v Advantages to New Historicism:
§ It is written in a better accessible way.
§ It avoids Post-Structuralism’s dense style and vocabulary.
§ It also shows data and draws good conclusions.
§ It shows the significance of the material and the distinctiveness in the context of the literary studies.
v How is New Historicism used?
§ They focus on issues such as State Power and how it is prolonged.
§ They also focus on Patriarchal Structures and there Perpetuation.
§ They focus on defamiliarise the canonical literary text.
v Founder/Founders of New Historicism:
§ Stephen Greenblatt- He is an American critic who is also a founder of New Historicism. He also has written a book called “Renaissance Self-Fashioning: from more to Shakespeare.”
Cultural Materialism:
v What is Cultural Materialism?
§ It is a study of historical material, within a politicized framework which includes the present.
v What is mostly looked upon?
§ The historical context.
§ The Theoretical Method.
§ The Political Commitment.
§ The text analysis.
v Signification of Culture and Materialism:
§ Culture means all forms of culture like TV and Music.
§ Materialism means idealism which shows the talented individuals thought and mind.
v Founder/Founders of Cultural Materialism:
§ Jonathan Dollimore- He is a British sociologist.
§ Alan Sinfield- He is a British theorist whom wrote essays with Jonathan called “Political Shakespeare.”
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