Modernism, Fiction and Mathematics - Paperback

by Nina Engelhardt (Author)

An analysis of novelistic explorations of modernism in mathematics and its cultural interrelations
Modernism in mathematics - this unusual notion turns out to provide a new perspective on central questions in and beyond literary modernism. Contrasting 'mathematical fictions' from and about the heyday of mathematical modernism, this book relates literary engagements with mathematical modernism to the wider context of modernist critiques of Enlightenment values and postmodern reassessments of modernist patterns. The analysis of canonical works by Thomas Pynchon, Hermann Broch, and Robert Musil demonstrates how mathematics is accorded a central role as a particularly telling indicator of modernist transformations, and how imaginative illustrations contribute to establishing mathematics as part of modernist culture. In its interdisciplinary exploration of modernist interrelations between the surprisingly closely related fields of mathematics and literature, the book draws on prose works by mathematicians, research in the history and philosophy of mathematics, and literary scholarship.
Key Features:
Reveals new frames of textual and cultural analysis that help understand the modernist condition from the interdisciplinary perspective of literature and mathematics studiesSupports the notion of mathematical modernism through analysis of literary fiction, thereby advancing knowledge of modernism in science with a literary perspectiveHighlights the role of mathematics in modernist works and postmodernist re-examinations of modernity and modernismElucidates crucial and not easily accessible aspects of canonical works, which open up new avenues for research

Front Jacket

'Persuasively and engagingly, Nina Engelhardt demonstrates that modernism's relation to contemporary mathematics was often more analogous than adversarial. This fascinating study extends understanding of modernism within its historical and cultural context, opening up a seldom-explored area through incisive critical discussion of mathematics and narrative innovation.' Randall Stevenson, University of Edinburgh An analysis of novelistic explorations of modernism in mathematics and its cultural interrelations Modernism in mathematics - this unusual notion turns out to provide a new perspective on central questions in and beyond literary modernism. Contrasting 'mathematical fictions' from and about the heyday of mathematical modernism, this book relates literary engagements with mathematical modernism to the wider context of modernist critiques of Enlightenment values and postmodern reassessments of modernist patterns. The analysis of canonical works by Thomas Pynchon, Hermann Broch and Robert Musil demonstrates how mathematics is accorded a central role as a particularly telling indicator of modernist transformations, and how imaginative illustrations contribute to establishing mathematics as part of modernist culture. In its interdisciplinary exploration of modernist interrelations between the surprisingly closely related fields of mathematics and literature, the book draws on prose works by mathematicians, research in the history and philosophy of mathematics and literary scholarship. Nina Engelhardt is Research Fellow for the Transformation of Knowledge research group at the University of Cologne. Cover image: Numbers Composition (c) agsandrew/Adobe Stock Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-1623-8 Barcode

Author Biography

Nina Engelhardt is a lecturer in English Literature at the University of Stuttgart. She received her PhD from the University of Edinburgh and has since held research and teaching positions at the University of Edinburgh, the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Edinburgh, and the University of Cologne.