Identity and Its Discontents

A Snapshot of Contemporaneity
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-42876-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 156 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 399 g

This book examines the crisis of identity in contemporary culture through a literary and philosophical lens, arguing that the postmodern celebration of multiple identities and hybridity has created a condition fundamentally incompatible with humanity's need for meaning. The author explores concepts of authenticity, bad faith, psychological doubling, and solitude not merely as postmodern phenomena but as enduring cultural conditions shaped by historical and structural forces. Each chapter addresses fundamental questions about selfhood, language, and the human capacity for meaning-making in an age dominated by signs, images, and surface-level engagement.

The book is essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students in comparative literature, literary theory, philosophy, cultural studies, and sociology. It will also appeal to readers interested in identity studies and the cultural dynamics of contemporaneity. Conceived with both theoretical depth and accessible analysis, this text is an indispensable reading for all those concerned with the postmodern condition.

Zielgruppe

Academic, General, and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Castelli, Alberto

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1. Is it Possible to be Authentic? A Fictional Answer Chapter 2. The Bad Faith of the Nonexistent Knight: If Sartre Reads Calvino Chapter 3. The Sound of Silence Chapter 4. Identity: A Chamber of Torture Chapter 5. Something Else About Love and Literature Chapter 6. The School of Athens before Fahrenheit 451: All That Remains Chapter 7. Words Fail Us: The Crisis of The Language Chapter 8. An Additional Note

Über Autor(innen)

Alberto Castelli is a writer of Italian origin and a well-established scholar at Hainan University, China. He has worked in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. At the moment, he lives in China. He is known for his extensive work on modernism, postmodern dynamics, and cross-cultural studies. He has authored 15 academic books and some 60 manuscripts for academic outlets. Some of his most recent publications include Beauty in the Western Canon and The Ecstasy of Reproduction.