The Ascetic Imperative in Culture and Criticism

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The Ascetic Imperative in Culture and Criticism is written by Geoffrey Galt Harpham and published by University of Chicago Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0226316912 (ISBN 10) and 9780226316918 (ISBN 13).

In this bold interdisciplinary work, Geoffrey Galt Harpham argues that asceticism has played a major role in shaping Western ideas of the body, writing, ethics, and aesthetics. He suggests that we consider the ascetic as "the 'cultural' element in culture," and presents a close analysis of works by Athanasius, Augustine, Matthias, Grünewald, Nietzsche, Foucault, and other thinkers as proof of the extent of asceticism's resources. Harpham demonstrates the usefulness of his findings by deriving from asceticism a "discourse of resistance," a code of interpretation ultimately more generous and humane than those currently available to us.