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Through the prism of criticism, the modalities of thinking form a spectrum: on one end, systematic exposition, on the other, the fragment. It is the latter, fragmentary approach that distinguishes Matches—an investigation that does not focus on a single theme developed in all its aspects but, rather, on a constellation of themes in art, literature, philosophy, science, social and political thought, as well as the human in relation to history and nature. The author pursues here in performative fashion her research into the history of critique from the Enlightenment onward. Her choice of the fragment—in the tradition of writing represented by Gracián, Chamfort, Lichtenberg, and, closer to us, Nietzsche, Adorno, and Benjamin—does not, however, stem from an attempt to comprehend the contemporary world, which can only be done after the fact. Instead, served by an expressive and incisive style, Matches foregrounds the necessary elements for a critique of our time, capturing them in their contradictory and complementary relations. It situates itself under the sign of the future, reviving the spirit of utopia, reminding us that the last word need not belong to the present.

Narrative summary of Virgil's epic poem.In this book, M. Owen Lee provides a comprehensive narrative summary of Virgil's Aeneid and a personal account of his experience with the epic poem. Noting that Virgil is the writer most Latinists read early, live with, and often come to love late, Lee expresses a clear devotion to the poet's work and relates how it has touched him throughout his life. While most criticism of the Aeneid makes a distinction between what critics say and what an individual may respond to, Lee takes a unique approach by analyzing the epic story from his own point of view. He not only explores the extensive Virgilian tradition, but also looks at the work of other poets, as well as philosophers, artists, composers, and filmmakers in order to better understand the Aeneid. Lee concludes that Virgil's poem, with its unavailing fathers and dutiful sons, its ineffably sad view of a failed humanity and a flawed universe, still touches hearts and, in ways Virgil could not have foreseen, still affects human lives.M. Owen Lee is Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Toronto and the author of several books, including Death and Rebirth in Virgil's Arcadia and Virgil as Orpheus: A Study of the Georgics, both also published by SUNY Press.

Analysis of the literature demonstrates a link between the growing secularism and careerism of the late middle ages and the reduction of women's social status and public options.The distrust and hatred of matrimony is a recurring theme in Western literature. In this volume, Wilson and Makowski show that in their repeated imagery, continuous themes, and rhetorical devices, misogamous texts closely parallel and reflect economic and demographic shifts, and theological and legal innovation. Analysis of the literature demonstrates a link between the growing secularism and careerism of the late middle ages and the reduction of women's social status and public options.Katharina M. Wilson is Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia. Elizabeth M. Makowski is in the Department of History at Columbia University.

Includes index.