The Ascetic Imperative in Culture and Criticism

by Geoffrey Galt Harpham

Book Overview

In this bold interdisciplinary work, Geoffrey Galt Harpham argues that asceticism has played a major role in shaping Western ideas of the body, writing, ethics, and aesthetics. He suggests that we consider the ascetic as "the 'cultural' element in culture," and presents a close analysis of works by Athanasius, Augustine, Matthias, Gr?newald, Nietzsche, Foucault, and other thinkers as proof of the extent of asceticism's resources. Harpham demonstrates...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226316912
• ISBN13: 9780226316918
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.3"