A reconception of the sublime to include experiences of disaster, war,
outer space, virtual reality, and the Anthropocene. We experience
the sublime—overwhelming amazement and exhilaration—in at least
seven different forms. Gazing from the top of a mountain at a majestic
vista is not the same thing as looking at a city from the observation
deck of a skyscraper; looking at images constructed from Hubble Space
Telescope data is not the same as living through a powerful
earthquake. The varieties of sublime experience have increased during
the last two centuries, and we need an expanded terminology to
distinguish between them. In this book, David Nye delineates seven
forms of the sublime: natural, technological, disastrous, martial,
intangible, digital, and environmental, which express seven different
relationships to space, time, and identity. These forms of the
sublime can be experienced at historic sites, ruins, cities, national
parks, or on the computer screen. We find them in beautiful landscapes
and gigantic dams, in battle and on battlefields, in images of black
holes and microscopic particles. The older forms are tangible, when we
are physically present and our senses are fully engaged; increasingly,
others are intangible, mediated through technology. Nye examines each
of the seven sublimes, framed by philosophy but focused on historical
examples.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780262369831
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Random House Publishing Services
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter