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Author Wilson, Eric Michael, 1961- author.

Title The Republic of Cthulhu: Lovecraft, the Weird Tale, and Conspiracy Theory by Eric Wilson
Published Baltimore, Maryland : Project Muse, 2020
Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 0000
2020

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Description 1 online resource (183 pages)
Series Book collections on Project MUSE
Contents Gods and monsters -- The criminology of the nameless : parapolitics and Alētheia -- From the sublime : "The call of Cthulhu" (1926) -- To the grotesque : "The horror at Red Hook" (1925) -- N. Lat. 40.7117°, W. Long. 74.0125° 08:46-09:03 AM, September 11, 2001 -- Conclusion : the doom that came to humanism
Summary If parapolitics, a branch of radical criminology that studies the interactions between public entities and clandestine agencies, is to develop as an academic discipline, then it must develop a coherent theory of aesthetics in order to successfully perform its primary function: to render perceptible extra-judicial phenomena that have hitherto resisted formal classification.Wilson offers the work of H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) as an example of the relevance of subversive literature--in this case, cosmic horror and the weird tale--to the parapolitical criminologist. Cosmic horror is a form of writing that relies heavily upon the epistemological assumption of a radical and irreconcilable disjunction between appearance and reality, perception and truth. In many ways, the well-constructed weird tale strongly resembles the hard-boiled detective story or the noir thriller in that the resolution of the narrative hinges upon a dramatically shattering confrontation with an unspeakable reality. Apart from its obvious utilization of conspiracy theory, the primary attraction of the Lovecraftian text lies with its remarkably sophisticated utilization of two central tropes of classical aesthetic theory--the sublime and the grotesque. Not only does Lovecraft's oeuvre represent a remarkable use of both of these motifs, but the raw literary power of the Lovecraftian weird tale serves as an outstanding exemplar for the parapolitical scholar to emulate in formulating an alternative mode of discourse, or poetics
Analysis H.P. Lovecraft
parapolitics
radical criminology
horror
conspiracy theory
Notes Issued as part of book collections on Project MUSE
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-183)
Notes Description based on print version record
SUBJECT Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips), 1890-1937 -- Criticism and interpretation
Subject Structuralism (Literary analysis)
Conspiracy theories in literature
Structuralism (Literary analysis)
Form Electronic book
Author Project Muse, distributor.
ISBN 9780998237565
0998237566