Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
“Grotesque Masculinities in the Works of Harry Crews, Barry Hannah, and Padgett Powell” explores how these authors use the grotesque to complicate, distort, and criticize hegemonic white Southern masculinity as represented in contemporary American literature. In “Grotesque Masculinities,” I argue that the presence of the grotesque mode in these author’s works offers a unique critical perspective by which to better understand how masculinity is constructed by and for white Southern men in literature, and how alternative configurations of identity are not only possible, but necessary to decenter whiteness and heteronormativity as dominant categories. Using what sociologists refer to as body-reflexive theory, I argue that grotesque representations of white Southern masculinity in literature may help us conceptualize alternative gender identities for men (and masculine-identified) people in the South and beyond.
Date
5-18-2022
Recommended Citation
Blasi, Matt Brandon, "Grotesque Masculinities in the Works of Harry Crews, Barry Hannah, and Padgett Powell" (2022). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 5853.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/5853
Committee Chair
Costello, Brannon
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5853