A praga escarlate e o vírus da linguagem
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17851/1982-0739.26.3.14-37Palavras-chave:
literatura estadunidense, distopia, contágio, Era Progressista, comunicaçãoResumo
Este artigo discute A praga escarlate (The Scarlet Plague), novela publicada em 1912 pelo escritor estadunidense Jack London. A obra detalha um futuro alternativo em que o planeta foi devastado por uma pandemia e a população restante vive em condições próximas à barbárie. A obra é examinada em relação a teorias de contágio e é interpretada como uma instância exemplar das transformações intelectuais e políticas da chamada Era Progressista. Detalhamos como teorias da microbiologia e da epidemiologia influenciaram conceitos nascentes de multidão e cultura, particularmente em teorias nascentes de sociologia e comunicação. Argumentamos que a novela pode ser lida como uma reflexão sobre as atitudes e as ambivalências de uma classe de intelectuais reformistas da época, que buscava encontrar métodos e linguagens originais para representar a nova realidade social dos centros urbanos industrializados na passagem para o século XX.
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