Mobilizing Literature: A Response
Edited by Dan Sinykin and Francisco Robles
Introduction
Rarely does the publication of a peer-reviewed essay generate the excitement that accompanied Jeffrey Lawrence's "Mobilizing Literature" in the Fall 2024 issue of ELH. Lawrence aims for an ambitious intervention in post-1945 literary studies. He argues that cultural materialism and the new institutionalism have dominated the field for fifteen years or more and that they have many virtues, but that they have been unable to recognize the centrality of social movements to the period's literature.
We believe that Lawrence's article offers a perfect occasion to assess the state of post-1945 literary studies. To that end, we have convened scholars to respond to "Mobilizing Literature," privileging those who have thought considerably about social movements. Everyone in this cluster endorses Lawrence's goal of surfacing the influence of social movements on the post-1945 US literary field. Beyond that, we find much constructive disagreement.
Dan Sinykin
Francisco Robles
References
Past clusters
Abortion Now, Abortion Forever
African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century
Contemporary Literature from the Classroom
Ecologies of Neoliberal Publishing
Feel Your Fantasy: The Drag Race Cluster
For Speed and Creed: The Fast and Furious Franchise
Keywords for Postcolonial Thought
Leaving Hollywoo: Essays After BoJack Horseman
Legacies — 9/11 and the War On Terror at Twenty
Minimalisms Now: Race, Affect, Aesthetics
Mobilizing Literature: A Response