“the agitation of the autobiographical”: National Politics and Aesthetic Autonomy in Philip Roth's Exit Ghost

Through a close reading of Exit Ghost, this paper examines in a fresh manner the conflicts between notions of authorial context and autonomous literary creativity that dominate not just this novel, but all of Roth's works. In particular, I will look at how Exit Ghost reprises the antagonism and confusion that has existed between disinterested notions of authorial self-effacement and forms of autobiographical self-exposure within Zuckerman's (and Roth's) writing. By exploring how the fraught relationship between Zuckerman's private self and his publicly accessible body of fiction has been closely tied to his more youthful erotic adventures in earlier novels, I will discuss in detail the significance of the eviscerating impact of old age and impotence that he endures in Exit Ghost. In addition, I will discuss these complex issues of desire and authorship in the context of Roth's creative treatment of the Bush/Kerry Presidential election of 2004 in Exit Ghost. I will look at how the presence, albeit marginal, of such large-scale political events in this novel provides an interesting insight into the tangled intersection between literature and the raw “facts” of American history in Roth's fiction.

Transatlantic Perspectives on the U.S. 2004 Election

The U.S. Presidential election of 2004 was an exciting reprise of the 2000 election and was closely watched by numerous observers across the world. The election held significant ramifications for world issues such as the war in Iraq and the war on terror. Norwegian media in particular followed the election with great interest. The strong social and familial bond between Norwegians and Americans was a foundation for an interest in the role that social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and religion played in the campaign. This article was an exploratory case study based on data from three major Norwegian newspapers. The article used framing theory as a tool to examine the way in which these newspapers covered the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. A key focus was the importance and influence of culture in this framing process. Results are presented and implications for the role of framing theory in international contexts are discussed.

Branding and strategic maneuvering in the Romanian presidential election of 2004

In this paper I analyse differences in the legitimation strategies used by and on behalf of the two presidential candidates in the elections of December 2004 in Romania, using a combination of Critical Discourse Analysis and pragmadialectics. These differences are seen to lie primarily in the varieties of populist discourse that were drawn upon in the construction of legitimizing arguments for both candidates: a paternalist type vs. a radical, anti-political type of populism. I relate the success of the latter type to more effective strategic maneuvering in argumentation, part of more effective branding strategies in general, but also to existing types of political culture amongst the electorate and to social, economic circumstances. In CDA terms, I discuss the “Băsescu brand” as involving choices at the level of discourse, genre and style; in pragma-dialectical terms, I view its success as partly the effect of successful strategic maneuvering. I also place the success of this brand within the Romanian context at the end of 2004, where often questionable populist electoral messages were perceived as reasonable and acceptable, as fitting adjustments to the situation and even as means of optimizing the deliberative situation of the electorate.