My thesis is titled Modeling the Public Intellectual: The Case of Matthew Arnold. Matthew Arnold, arguably the most influential critic of his age (Trilling 190) has also proven to be an influential model for the public intellectual currently in Canada and elsewhere. The role and work of public intellectuals is complex and who or what they are is the topic of vigorous debate and sometimes extreme disagreement. Because Arnold is so influential and controversial as a literary and social critic, I want to develop and to communicate a better understanding of his achievements and to explore the connection between his work and the role of the public intellectual. To that end, I draw on three of his works, The Function of Criticism at the Present Time (1864), Culture and Anarchy (1869) and Literature and Dogma (1873). In the course of a decade, Arnold asserts and expands the role of criticism in society and the kinds of issues a poet, critic, and inspector of schools feels competent to address while defining his own personal version of the Victorian Sage (Holloway). I also want to explore why criticism produced in the nineteenth century, particularly in Arnolds work, promotes the figure and activities of the public intellectual. Moreover, I will reaffirm, via Arnolds example, the importance of the relationship between literature and life and show how this connection nourishes the idea of the public intellectual in the English-speaking world.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-12202007-205105 |
| Date | 02 January 2008 |
| Creators | McLeod, Tenielle Robyn |
| Contributors | James-Cavan, Kathleen, Findlay, Leonard M. (Len), Woodhouse, Howard |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-12202007-205105/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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