Dialogue and Deviance : Male-Male Desire in the Dialogue Genre (Plato to the Middle Ages, Plato to the Enlightenment, Plato to the Postmodern)

by Sturges

• ISBN13: 9780312230692
• ISBN10: 0312230699
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-03-02
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book traces the historical relationship between male-male erotic desire and the genre of literary or philosophical dialogue. It describes three literary-philosophical traditions, each of which originates in a different Platonic dialogue whose subsequent influence can be traced, first, through the Roman and medieval periods; second, through the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods; and, finally, through the modern and postmodern periods. Sturges demonstrates that various forms of erotic deviance have been differently valued in these different periods and cultures, and that dialogue has consistently proven to be the genre of choice for expressing these changing values. This study provides a valuable historical perspective on current debates over the place of homosexuality in modern Western culture.

Author Biography

Robert S. Sturges is University Research Professor of English at the University of New Orleans.

Table of Contents

Introduction * Erotics of Friendship: From Plato's Lysis to Aelred's Spiritual Friendship * Spiritual Erotics: From Plato's Symposium to Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom * Erotic Style: From Plato's Phaedrus to the Modern Novel * Conclusion: Deviant Erotics from Plato to the Postmodern

Introduction
Erotics of Friendship: From Plato's Lysis to Aelred's Spiritual Friendship
Spiritual Erotics: From Plato's Symposium to Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom
Erotic Style: From Plato's Phaedrus to the Modern Novel
Conclusion: Deviant Erotics from Plato to the Postmodern