{"product_id":"subject-without-nation-robert-musil-and-the-history-of-modern-identity-9780822325703","title":"Subject Without Nation: Robert Musil and the History of Modern Identity","description":"This innovative study of the works of Robert Musil opens a new window on the history of modern identity in western culture. Stefan Jonsson argues that Musil's Austria was the first postimperial state in modern Europe. Prior to its destruction in 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ruled over a vast array of nationalities and, in the course of its demise as well as after, Austria was beset by nationalism, racism, and other forms of identity politics that ultimately led to the triumph of Nazism.\u003cbr\u003eIt was to this society that Musil responded in his great work \u003ci\u003eThe Man Without Qualities.\u003c\/i\u003e Exploring the nooks and crannies of this modernist classic, Jonsson shows that Musil's narrative evolves along two axes that must be considered in tandem: Whereas the central plot portrays a Viennese elite that in 1913 attempts to restore social cohesion by gathering popular support for the cultural essence of the empire, the protagonist discovers that he lacks essence altogether and finds himself attracted by monsters, criminals, and revolutionary figures that reject the social order. In this way, Musil's novel traces the disappearance of what Jonsson calls the expressivist paradigm-the conviction that identities such as gender, nationality, class, and social character are expressions of permanent intrinsic dispositions. This, Jonsson argues, is Musil's great legacy. For not only did the Austrian author seek to liquidate prevailing conceptions of personal and cultural identity; he also projected \"a new human being,\" one who would resist assimilation into imperialist, nationalist, or fascist communities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSubject Without Nation\u003c\/i\u003e presents a new interpretation of Viennese modernity and uncovers the historical foundations of poststructural and postcolonial reconceptualizations of human subjectivity. Illuminating links between Musil's oeuvre as a whole and post-war developments in critical thought, this book locates an important crossroads between literary criticism, intellectual history, and cultural theory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stefan Jonsson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Duke University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/24\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 392\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.16lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780822325703\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2001 pg. 124\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStefan Jonsson is Fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. He is also a contributing editor of \u003ci\u003eDagens Nyheter, \u003c\/i\u003eSweden's major newspaper.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Duke University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40198558253171,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_5ce3d548-6d34-4946-94f0-885264e62849.jpg?v=1656078710","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/subject-without-nation-robert-musil-and-the-history-of-modern-identity-9780822325703","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}