{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10819"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10819","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"\"The whole world in a book\" : fact, fiction and the postmodern in Selected Works by E. L. Doctorow","abstract":"This dissertation considers the manner in which the thematic and stylistic interests displayed in E. L. Doctorow's fiction derive from the postmodern context in which he works. Encapsulating the spirit of subversion so typical of postmodernism, Doctorow not only questions established modes of perception, but reinvigorates cultural and social traditions through the reformulation of customarily unchallenged norms and values. Departing from the conventions of traditional narrative, he emphasises the need for a continual critical interrogation and revision of absolutist grand narratives in order to achieve a more complex understanding of human experience. He grapples with concepts relating to the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of texts, deftly experimenting with narrative form in order to destabilise conventional perceptions of history, reality and representation.","abstract_html":"This dissertation considers the manner in which the thematic and stylistic interests displayed in E. L. Doctorow's fiction derive from the postmodern context in which he works. Encapsulating the spirit of subversion so typical of postmodernism, Doctorow not only questions established modes of perception, but reinvigorates cultural and social traditions through the reformulation of customarily unchallenged norms and values. Departing from the conventions of traditional narrative, he emphasises the need for a continual critical interrogation and revision of absolutist grand narratives in order to achieve a more complex understanding of human experience. He grapples with concepts relating to the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of texts, deftly experimenting with narrative form in order to destabilise conventional perceptions of history, reality and representation.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Housdon, Beth"],"institution":"Department of English Language and Literature","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Marx, Lesley"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008","date_published":"2008","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:26Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10819","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Marx, Lesley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Housdon, Beth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-01-01T12:27:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-01-01T12:27:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2008"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10819"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-143)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation considers the manner in which the thematic and stylistic interests displayed in E. L. Doctorow's fiction derive from the postmodern context in which he works. Encapsulating the spirit of subversion so typical of postmodernism, Doctorow not only questions established modes of perception, but reinvigorates cultural and social traditions through the reformulation of customarily unchallenged norms and values. Departing from the conventions of traditional narrative, he emphasises the need for a continual critical interrogation and revision of absolutist grand narratives in order to achieve a more complex understanding of human experience. He grapples with concepts relating to the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of texts, deftly experimenting with narrative form in order to destabilise conventional perceptions of history, reality and representation."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"The whole world in a book\" : fact, fiction and the postmodern in Selected Works by E. L. Doctorow"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Marx, Lesley"],"dc:creator":["Housdon, Beth"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-01-01T12:27:50Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-01-01T12:27:50Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2008"],"dc:description":["Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-143)."],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation considers the manner in which the thematic and stylistic interests displayed in E. L. Doctorow's fiction derive from the postmodern context in which he works. Encapsulating the spirit of subversion so typical of postmodernism, Doctorow not only questions established modes of perception, but reinvigorates cultural and social traditions through the reformulation of customarily unchallenged norms and values. Departing from the conventions of traditional narrative, he emphasises the need for a continual critical interrogation and revision of absolutist grand narratives in order to achieve a more complex understanding of human experience. He grapples with concepts relating to the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of texts, deftly experimenting with narrative form in order to destabilise conventional perceptions of history, reality and representation."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10819"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of English Language and Literature"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:title":["\"The whole world in a book\" : fact, fiction and the postmodern in Selected Works by E. L. Doctorow"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:26Z"}