Walter Scott and Contemporary Theory

Evan Gottlieb is Associate Professor of English at Oregon State University, USA.

Far from being overwhelmed by contemporary theory, Scott's novels are restored to something like their original strength and freshness in Evan Gottlieb's sparkling account. He treats them not just as theory's objects but as powerful theoretical works in their own right, addressing urgent questions of identity, history, power, and what it means to be human with a critical sophistication at least equal to the most adventurous current thinking. -- Ian Duncan, Department of English, University of California, Berkeley, USA Energetically aligning nineteenth-century novels and today's theorists, Gottlieb achieves unexpected readings of Scott and suggests intriguing applications for current theory. -- Caroline McCracken-Flesher, Department of English, University of Wyoming, USA In Walter Scott and Contemporary Theory Gottlieb adopts the possibilities offered by an array of theoretical approaches to explore the surprising contemporaneity and richness of Scott's fiction. In turn he also examines the potential of these theoretical positions by setting them against the issues inherent in historical fiction. The result is a study that both expands our understanding of Scott and asks us to reconsider what contemporary theory may offer us more generally as readers. -- Alison Lumsden, Chair in English, University of Aberdeen, UK The book succeeds in providing accessible introductions to a range of theorists and fiction ... Among its high points is an insightful analysis of three great but little known short stories: 'The Highland Mother', 'The Two Drovers' and 'The Surgeon's Daughter' ... Informative and engagingly well-written. -- Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary University of London, UK Scottish Literary Studies

• Acknowledgments \ Introduction: Everything you always wanted to know about Scott but were afraid to ask Contemporary Theory (and vice versa) \ Chapter 1. Subjectivity, or Waverley and Ivanhoe with Žižek \ Chapter 2. Historicity, or The Antiquary and Redgauntlet with Koselleck and DeLanda \ Chapter 3. Hybridity and Performativity, or Rob Roy and The Talisman with Bhabha and Butler \ Chapter 4.Governmentality, or The Heart of Mid-Lothian and Quentin Durward with Foucault and Agamben \ Chapter 5. Hospitality and Community, or The Bride of Lammermoor and Chronicles of the Canongate with Derrida, Habermas, and a Multitude of Theorists \ Conclusion: Posthuman Scott? \ Bibliography \ Index