1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910465198903321

Autore

Müller-Sievers Helmut

Titolo

The cylinder [[electronic resource] ] : kinematics of the nineteenth century / / Helmut Müller-Sievers

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 2012

ISBN

1-283-42594-7

9786613425942

0-520-95215-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (256 p.)

Collana

FlashPoints ; ; 9

Disciplina

809.915

Soggetti

Cylinders

Literature, Modern - 19th century - Themes, motives

Machinery in literature

Mechanics in literature

Science in popular culture

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Rise of Kinematics -- 3. The Valuation of Motions -- 4. The Cylinder as Motor -- 5. The Cylinder as Tool -- 6. Kinematics of Narration I: Dickens and the Motion of Serialization -- 7. The Cylinder as Enclosure -- 8. Kinematics of Narration II: Balzac and the Cylindrical Shape of the Plot -- 9. Gears and Screws -- 10. Kinematics of Narration III: Henry James and the Turn of the Screw -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

The Cylinder investigates the surprising proliferation of cylindrical objects in the nineteenth century, such as steam engines, phonographs, panoramas, rotary printing presses, silos, safety locks, and many more. Examining this phenomenon through the lens of kinematics, the science of forcing motion, Helmut Müller-Sievers provides a new view of the history of mechanics and of the culture of the industrial revolution, including its literature, that focuses on the metaphysics and aesthetics of motion. Müller-Sievers explores how



nineteenth-century prose falls in with the specific rhythm of cylindrical machinery, re-imagines the curvature of cylindrical spaces, and conjoins narrative progress and reflection in a single stylistic motion. Illuminating the intersection of engineering, culture, and literature, he argues for a concept of culture that includes an epoch's relation to the motion of its machines.