Introduction: the new stylism

Masters, Ben

Abstract

To theorise style and stake its value seem more than ever urgent matters. This article suggests that a ‘style consciousness’ has become prevalent in criticism of different kinds–from the scholarly to the creative to the essayistic–where style has re-emerged as a central critical concern; and that contemporary critical discussion of style is where problematized considerations like technique, authorial intention and aesthetic evaluation are being qualified and restored to critical centrality through their meeting with the political, ethical and social. It then locates the articles that make up this special issue within current debates and diverse ways of thinking about style. In doing so it identifies a ‘new stylism’–a term it uses very broadly to describe how contemporary critics are marrying attention to the ideological contexts of literature with aesthetic concerns, thus turning style consciousness away from negative connotations of superficiality, shallowness, and naivety, towards political and ethical engagement.

Citation

Masters, B. (2021). Introduction: the new stylism. Textual Practice, 35(6), 901-919. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236x.2021.1939432

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 2, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 25, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 3, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 4, 2022
• Journal: Textual Practice
• Print ISSN: 0950-236X
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1308
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 901-919
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236x.2021.1939432
• Keywords: Literature and Literary Theory
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5690942
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0950236X.2021.1939432
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Textual Practice on 25 Jun 2021, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0950236X.2021.1939432