Current Search: Science and the humanities in literature (x)
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Title
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Strange time: block universes and strange loop phenomena in two novels by Kurt Vonnegut.
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Creator
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Altomare, Francis C., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
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Abstract/Description
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Einsteinian relativity forever altered our understanding of the metaphysics of time. This study considers how this scientific theory affects the formulation of time in postmodern narratives as a necessary step toward understanding the relationship between empirical science and literary art. Two novels by Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse-Five, exemplify this synthesis. Close readings of these texts reveal an underlying temporal scheme deeply informed by relativity....
Show moreEinsteinian relativity forever altered our understanding of the metaphysics of time. This study considers how this scientific theory affects the formulation of time in postmodern narratives as a necessary step toward understanding the relationship between empirical science and literary art. Two novels by Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse-Five, exemplify this synthesis. Close readings of these texts reveal an underlying temporal scheme deeply informed by relativity. Furthermore, this study explores how relativity manifests in these texts in light of the block universe concept, Gèodelian universes, and strange loop phenomena. Vonnegut's treatment of free will is also discussed. All of these considerations emphasize Vonnegut's role as a member of the Third Culture, an author who consciously bridges C.P. Snow's two cultures.
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Date Issued
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2010
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2684306
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Subject Headings
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Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Postmodernism (Literature), Literature and science, Science and the humanities in literature, Space and time in literature
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Format
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Document (PDF)
