Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund

UID:

Format: 1 online resource

ISBN: 9780231547260

Series Statement: European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism

Content: Beggars, outcasts, urchins, waifs, prostitutes, criminals, convicts, madmen, fallen women, lunatics, degenerates—part reality, part fantasy, these are the grotesque faces that populate the underworld, the dark inverse of our everyday world. Lurking in the mirror that we hold up to our society, they are our counterparts and our doubles, repelling us and yet offering the tantalizing promise of escape. Although these images testify to undeniable social realities, the sordid lower depths make up a symbolic and social imaginary that reflects our fears and anxieties—as well as our desires.In Vice, Crime, and Poverty, Dominique Kalifa traces the untold history of the concept of the underworld and its representations in popular culture. He examines how the myth of the lower depths came into being in nineteenth-century Europe, as biblical figures and Christian traditions were adapted for a world turned upside-down by the era of industrialization, democratization, and mass culture. From the Parisian demimonde to Victorian squalor, from the slums of New York to the sewers of Buenos Aires, Kalifa deciphers the making of an image that has cast an enduring spell on its audience. While the social conditions that created that underworld have changed, Vice, Crime, and Poverty shows that, from social-scientific ideas of the underclass to contemporary cinema and steampunk culture, its shadows continue to haunt us.

Note: Frontmatter -- , Contents -- , Acknowledgments -- , Foreword -- , Introduction -- , PART I. The Advent of the Lower Depths -- , 1. In the Den of Horror -- , 2. Courts of Miracles -- , 3. “Dangerous Classes” -- , PART II. Scenarios of Society’s Underside -- , 4. Empire of Lists -- , 5. The Disguised Prince -- , 6. The Grand Dukes’ Tour -- , 7. Poetic Flight -- , PART III. Ebbing of an Imaginary -- , 8. Slow Eclipse of the Underworld -- , 9. Persistent Shadows -- , 10. Roots of Fascination -- , Conclusion -- , Notes -- , Index , In English.

Language: English

DOI: 10.7312/kali18742

URL: https://doi.org/10.7312/kali18742

UID:

Format: 1 online resource (297 pages).

ISBN: 0-231-54726-9

Series Statement: European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism

Content: Beggars, outcasts, urchins, waifs, prostitutes, criminals, convicts, madmen, fallen women, lunatics, degenerates-part reality, part fantasy, these are the grotesque faces that populate the underworld, the dark inverse of our everyday world. Lurking in the mirror that we hold up to our society, they are our counterparts and our doubles, repelling us and yet offering the tantalizing promise of escape. Although these images testify to undeniable social realities, the sordid lower depths make up a symbolic and social imaginary that reflects our fears and anxieties-as well as our desires.In Vice, Crime, and Poverty, Dominique Kalifa traces the untold history of the concept of the underworld and its representations in popular culture. He examines how the myth of the lower depths came into being in nineteenth-century Europe, as biblical figures and Christian traditions were adapted for a world turned upside-down by the era of industrialization, democratization, and mass culture. From the Parisian demimonde to Victorian squalor, from the slums of New York to the sewers of Buenos Aires, Kalifa deciphers the making of an image that has cast an enduring spell on its audience. While the social conditions that created that underworld have changed, Vice, Crime, and Poverty shows that, from social-scientific ideas of the underclass to contemporary cinema and steampunk culture, its shadows continue to haunt us.

Note: Frontmatter -- , Contents -- , Acknowledgments -- , Foreword -- , Introduction -- , PART I. The Advent of the Lower Depths -- , 1. In the Den of Horror -- , 2. Courts of Miracles -- , 3. "Dangerous Classes" -- , PART II. Scenarios of Society's Underside -- , 4. Empire of Lists -- , 5. The Disguised Prince -- , 6. The Grand Dukes' Tour -- , 7. Poetic Flight -- , PART III. Ebbing of an Imaginary -- , 8. Slow Eclipse of the Underworld -- , 9. Persistent Shadows -- , 10. Roots of Fascination -- , Conclusion -- , Notes -- , Index , In English.

Additional Edition: ISBN 0-231-18742-4

Language: English

DOI: 10.7312/kali18742

UID:

Format: xiv, 278 Seiten.

ISBN: 978-0-231-18742-8

Series Statement: European perspectives

Uniform Title: Les bas-fonds

Additional Edition: Erscheint auch als Online-Ausgabe ISBN 978-0-231-54726-0

Language: English

Subjects: Comparative Studies. Non-European Languages/Literatures , Sociology

Keywords: Literatur ; Unterwelt ; Kriminalität

Author information: Kalifa, Dominique, 1957-2020,