This essay addresses the relationship between solipsism (as a theme and formal device) and American imperialism in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried . The essay counters an emerging consensus among critics that the solipsistic form of the book reinforces the American imperialism that led to the Vietnam War. Instead, the article contends that the solipsism in O’Brien’s fiction is in fact central to his critique of US imperialism.

No abstract

This conversation among the editors of ARIEL and Timothy Clark addresses his 2012 essay, “Derangements of Scale,” published in Telemorphosis: Theory in the Era of Climate Change . In his essay, Clark suggests that scale effects play an important role in contemporary global politics and climate change, and he proposes a new, larger scale of literary study commensurate with an awareness of these issues. The editors discuss the implications of Clark’s essay for postcolonial studies, the merits of his proposed method of literary interpretation, and the ramifications of his discussion of human agency. Clark takes up all of these issues in his response to the editors’ conversation.

No abstract

No abstract