{"id":{"repo_id":"byu","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-1179"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/byu/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-1179","repository":{"repo_id":"byu","name":"Brigham Young University","base_url":"https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The Valuation of Literature: Triangulating the Rhetorical with the Economic Metaphor","abstract":"<p>Several theorists, including the Marxist theorists Trevor Ross, Walter Benjamin, and M.H. Abrams, have proposed theories to explain the eighteenth-century shift from functional to aesthetic conceptions of literature. Their explanations attribute the change to an increasingly consumer-based society (and the resulting commoditization of books), the development of the press, the rise of the middle class, and increased access to books. When we apply the cause-effect relationships which these theorists propose to the contexts of nineteenth-century America, Communist East Germany, WWII America, and 9/11 America, however, the causes don't correlate with the effects they theoretically predict. This disjunction suggests a re-examination of these three theories and possibly the Marxist basis which they share. I suggest that by triangulating rhetorical theory with Marxist theory we will gain a more comprehensive understanding of society's valuation of literature.","abstract_html":"<p>Several theorists, including the Marxist theorists Trevor Ross, Walter Benjamin, and M.H. Abrams, have proposed theories to explain the eighteenth-century shift from functional to aesthetic conceptions of literature. Their explanations attribute the change to an increasingly consumer-based society (and the resulting commoditization of books), the development of the press, the rise of the middle class, and increased access to books. When we apply the cause-effect relationships which these theorists propose to the contexts of nineteenth-century America, Communist East Germany, WWII America, and 9/11 America, however, the causes don't correlate with the effects they theoretically predict. This disjunction suggests a re-examination of these three theories and possibly the Marxist basis which they share. I suggest that by triangulating rhetorical theory with Marxist theory we will gain a more comprehensive understanding of society's valuation of literature.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gustafson, Melissa Brown"],"institution":"Brigham Young University - Provo","degree_name":"MA","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:27:25Z","subjects":["theory","theorist","Marxism","Marxist","Trevor Ross","Walter Benjamin","M. H. 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Abrams, have proposed theories to explain the eighteenth-century shift from functional to aesthetic conceptions of literature. Their explanations attribute the change to an increasingly consumer-based society (and the resulting commoditization of books), the development of the press, the rise of the middle class, and increased access to books. When we apply the cause-effect relationships which these theorists propose to the contexts of nineteenth-century America, Communist East Germany, WWII America, and 9/11 America, however, the causes don't correlate with the effects they theoretically predict. This disjunction suggests a re-examination of these three theories and possibly the Marxist basis which they share. 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Their explanations attribute the change to an increasingly consumer-based society (and the resulting commoditization of books), the development of the press, the rise of the middle class, and increased access to books. When we apply the cause-effect relationships which these theorists propose to the contexts of nineteenth-century America, Communist East Germany, WWII America, and 9/11 America, however, the causes don't correlate with the effects they theoretically predict. This disjunction suggests a re-examination of these three theories and possibly the Marxist basis which they share. I suggest that by triangulating rhetorical theory with Marxist theory we will gain a more comprehensive understanding of society's valuation of literature."],"dc:format":["application:pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/180","https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/context/etd/article/1179/viewcontent/ETD_CISOPTR_199.pdf"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Brigham Young University - Provo"],"dc:source":["Brigham Young University - Provo"],"dc:subject":["theory","theorist","Marxism","Marxist","Trevor Ross","Walter Benjamin","M. H. 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