Liminal Fictions in Postmodern Culture

the long version

Liminal Fictions in Postmodern Culture: The Politics of Self-Development examines postmodern literary, musical, and cinematic narratives that seek to inspire critical thought and conduct through provocation. From Darrieussecq's Pig Tales to Salinger's Franny and Zooey, Thomas Phillips argues liminal narratives offer an antidote to the modern commodification of the self. The development of both self and community, Phillips asserts, relies on the capacity to transcend habitual ways of occupying time and space. Interweaving his argument with theorists such as Terry Eagleton and Deleuze and Guattari, Phillips discusses a wide range of topics such as psychoanalysis, digital humanities, horror films, popular music, homelessness, and theology, reframing how readers encounter twentieth- and twenty-first-century texts.