Genre Theory and Historical Change

Ralph Cohen

ISBN 10: 0813954347 / ISBN 13: 9780813954349

Published by University of Virginia Press, US, 2025

About this Item

Ralph Cohen was highly regarded as the visionary founding editor of New Literary History, but his own theoretical essays appeared in such a scattering of publications that their conceptual originality, underlying coherence, and range of application have not been readily apparent. This new selection of twenty essays, many published here for the first time, offers a synthesis of Cohen's vital work. In these pages Cohen introduces change and continuity as essential modes of discourse in the study of literary behavior, an approach that can produce reliable narratives of literary, artistic, and cultural change. Here Cohen conceptualizes and develops a compelling, innovative theory of genre that promotes a systematic study of historical change, offering rewarding insights for twenty-first-century scholars.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780813954349

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Genre Theory and Historical Change
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press, US
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813954347
• ISBN 13: 9780813954349
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Ralph Cohen was highly regarded as the visionary founding editor of New Literary History, but his own theoretical essays appeared in such a scattering of publications that their conceptual originality, underlying coherence, and range of application have not been readily apparent. This new selection of twenty essays, many published here for the first time, offers a synthesis of Cohen’s vital work.

In these pages Cohen introduces change and continuity as essential modes of discourse in the study of literary behavior, an approach that can produce reliable narratives of literary, artistic, and cultural change. Here Cohen conceptualizes and develops a compelling, innovative theory of genre that promotes a systematic study of historical change, offering rewarding insights for twenty-first-century scholars.

About the Author

The late Ralph Cohen, emeritus Professor of English at the University of Virginia, founded the internationally known scholarly journal New Literary History. John L. Rowlett is an independent scholar and former Program Director for the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change.