Taking up the historical evolution of Darwin and his theories and the cultural responses they have inspired, Reflecting on Darwin poses the following questions: 'How are the apparatuses in the mid-nineteenth century and at the turn of the twenty-first century interconnected with bio-scientific paradigms in art, literature, culture and science?' 'How are naturalism, determinism and Darwinism - the eugenics of the nineteenth century and the genetic coding of the twentieth century - positioned, embodied and staged in various media configurations and media genres?' and 'How have particular media apparatuses formed, displaced or stabilized the various concepts of humankind in the framework of evolutionary theory?' Ranging from the early circulation of Darwins ideas to the present, this interdisciplinary collection pays particular attention to Darwins postmillennial reception. Beginning with an overview of the historical development of contemporary ecological and ethical fears, Reflecting on Darwin then turns to Darwins influence on contemporary media, neo-Victorian literature and culture, science fiction literature and film, and contemporary theory. In examining the plurality of ways in which Darwin has been rewritten and reappropriated, this unique volume both mirrors and inspects the complexity of recent debates in Victorian and neo-Victorian studies.
Taking up the historical evolution of Darwin and his theories and the cultural responses they have inspired, this collection looks at Darwins influence on contemporary media, neo-Victorian literature and culture, science fiction literature and film, and contemporary theory. By examining the plurality of ways in which Darwin has been rewritten and
Introduction, MonikaPietrzak-Franger, EckartVoigts; Part 1 The Cultural
Evolution of Darwins Thought;
Chapter 1 I differ widely from you,
AngeliqueRichardson;
Chapter 2 Evolution, Heredity and Visuality,
SusanneScholz;
Chapter 3 How like us is that ugly brute, the ape!,
JochenPetzold;
Chapter 4 Gender Trouble as Monkey Business, JulikaGriem; Part
2 Darwins Cultural Resonance Today;
Chapter 5 Neo-Victorian Darwin,
AnnHeilmann;
Chapter 6 (Mis-)Representations of Darwins Origin and
Evolutionary Master Narratives in The Sea (2005) and The Secret Scripture
(2008), Felix C.H.Sprang;
Chapter 7 Evolution for Better or for Worse?,
AngelaSchwarz; Part 3 Darwin as Pop Star of Contemporary Theory;
Chapter 8
Displacing Humans, Reconfiguring Darwin in Contemporary Culture and Theory,
VirginiaRichter;
Chapter 9 Ordering Darwin, NilsWilkinson;
Chapter 10 The
Limits of Sociobiology, MathiasGutmann;
Chapter 11 Survival of the Fittest
in Darwinian Metaphysics, Mommevon Sydow;
Monika Pietrzak-Franger is Assistant Professor at TU Braunschweig, Germany, Barbara Schaff is Professor for English Language and Culture at Gƶttingen University, Germany, and Eckart Voigts is Professor for English Literature and Culture at TU Braunschweig, Germany.
