Title: A Feeling of Wrongness: Pessimistic Rhetoric on the Fringes of Popular Culture
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press
Publication Date: 2018
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0271082356
ISBN 13: 9780271082356
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition
Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In A Feeling of Wrongness, Joseph Packer and Ethan Stoneman confront the rhetorical challenge inherent in the concept of pessimism by analyzing how it is represented in an eclectic range of texts on the fringes of popular culture, from adult animated cartoons to speculative fiction.

Packer and Stoneman explore how narratives such as True Detective, Rick and Morty, Final Fantasy VII, Lovecraftian weird fiction, and the pop ideology of transhumanism are better suited to communicate pessimistic affect to their fans than most carefully argued philosophical treatises and polemics. They show how these popular nondiscursive texts successfully circumvent the typical defenses against pessimism identified by Peter Wessel Zapffe as distraction, isolation, anchoring, and sublimation. They twist genres, upend common tropes, and disturb conventional narrative structures in a way that catches their audience off guard, resulting in belief without cognition, a more rhetorically effective form of pessimism than philosophical pessimism.

While philosophers and polemicists argue for pessimism in accord with the inherently optimistic structures of expressive thought or rhetoric, Packer and Stoneman show how popular texts are able to communicate their pessimism in ways that are paradoxically freed from the restrictive tools of optimism. A Feeling of Wrongness thus presents uncharted rhetorical possibilities for narrative, making visible the rhetorical efficacy of alternate ways and means of persuasion.

About the Authors

Joseph Packer is Associate Professor of Communication and Dramatic Arts at Central Michigan University. He is the author of Alien Life and Human Purpose: A Rhetorical Examination Through History.

Ethan Stoneman is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Public Address at Hillsdale College.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Kennys.ie is the largest exporter of books from Ireland currently exporting to approximately 100 countries around the world. Kennys Bookshop houses hundreds of thousands of books and specialises in collection development and library services, supplying booksellers and state and university libraries on a global scale including the U.S.A.,Japan and Europe. Kennys.ie is Ireland's Largest Online Bookshop.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries (Holdings) Limited
Liosb�n Retail Park, Tuam Road, Galway, H91 N5P8, Ireland

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Terms of Sale - Credit Cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Diner.
Payment can also be made by bank draft in Euros, drawn on an Irish Bank.

We regret that PO Boxes are not acceptable to the U.S. as our courier will not deliver to them.

In case of returns or queries please contact us by email books@kennys.ie or by phone +353 91 709350

VAT Registration - IE2238521A

Conor Kenny

Shipping Terms

Free Shipping

Shipping rates from Ireland to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from Ireland to U.S.A.
Order quantity	12 to 22 business days	10 to 20 business days
First item	US$ 10.96	US$ 13.27

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.