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The presumed universality of Chaplin's film persona, which Robinson emphasizes, has long been a component of the conversation around Chaplin's films, and it was rooted in part in persistent links between Chaplin's Tramp and the common man. Most critics and reviewers of that film affirm Chaplin's view that granting the tramp a voice would transform him into another person; they suggest that when Chaplin delivers a speech at the end of the film, he steps out of his film persona and speaks in his own voice.[3] Critics have offered a variety of explanations for Chaplin's reluctance to embrace sound technology. A great deal of critical conversation surrounding the films of Charlie Chaplin has focused on Chaplin's reluctance to move from the silent film technology of the 1910s and 1920s to the talkies of the 1930s. Against hagiographic treatments of Chaplin's films and career as well as laudatory assessments of Chaplin's representation of the everyman among contemporary critics, it is important, I believe, to acknowledge the abiding association between Chaplin's Tramp and the little man, and the ways in which that association is informed by the profoundly denigrating mainstream conception of the common person during his era. [Extracted from the article]

An essay is presented which suggests that a different theory of social stratification is potentially more helpful for understanding the complexities of Edith Wharton's novel "The House of Mirth" than the Marxian methods previously employed. It mentions that while critics of Wharton's novel have historically overlooked the theories of Max Weber, his distinction between class and status is useful for understanding the uneasy relationship between Wall Street, and Fifth Avenue, New York.

This conversation among the editors of ARIEL and Timothy Clark addresses his 2012 essay, "Derangements of Scale," published in Telemorphosis: Theory in the Era of Climate Change. In his essay, Clark suggests that scale effects play an important role in contemporary global politics and climate change, and he proposes a new, larger scale of literary study commensurate with an awareness of these issues. The editors discuss the implications of Clark's essay for postcolonial studies, the merits of his proposed method of literary interpretation, and the ramifications of his discussion of human agency. Clark takes up all of these issues in his response to the editors' conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to an essay on a teacher's experience of teaching an Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem in a class in Salalah, Oman, published within the issue is presented.

The article reviews the article "The State of Postcolonial Studies" by Dipesh Chakrabarty and Robert Young, which appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of the periodical "New Literary History."

This essay addresses the relationship between solipsism (as a theme and formal device) and American imperialism in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried." The essay counters an emerging consensus among critics that the solipsistic form of the book reinforces the American imperialism that led to the Vietnam War. Instead, the article contends that the solipsism in O'Brien's fiction is in fact central to his critique of US imperialism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors describe the kinds of articles they want to publish, including literary critiques that deal with postcolonialism, globalization, and diaspora.

Reviewed: American Hungers: The Problem of Poverty in U.S. Literature, 1840-1945. Jones, Gavin.

Reviewed: New Landscapes of Inequality: Neoliberalism and the Erosion of Democracy in America. Collins, Jane; diLeonardo, Micaela; and Williams, Brett, ed.

Reviewed: Vanishing Moments: Class and American Literature. Schocket, Eric.

Reviewed: Upward Mobility and the Common Good: Toward a Literary History of the Welfare State. Robbins, Bruce.