Dreiser and Veblen, Saboteurs of the Status Quo

Download or read book Dreiser and Veblen, Saboteurs of the Status Quo written by Clare Virginia Eby and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The works of Dreiser and Veblen make up a neglected chapter in the history of United States cultural criticism. Their central subjects (such as the myriad effects of consumer capitalism and the invidious status system) still preoccupy cultural critics, and with good reason. Veblen and Dreiser also pioneered strategies for positioning themselves as confrontational intellectuals (such as by attacking foundationalism and claims of epistemological certainty) that continue to inform the practice of many cultural critics. Thus, in both subject matter and rhetorical strategy, Dreiser’s and Veblen’s writings provide prototypes for the work that many United States scholars want to do now, work which often turns to European or postmodern theory for inspiration. In making this claim about the usefulness of Dreiser and Veblen for current intellectual work, my argument parallels recent rehabilitations of American thinkers.