Notes on Nowhere: Feminism, Utopian Logic, and Social Transformation

Title Page, About the Series, Copyright, Dedication

Notes on Nowhere A M E R I C A N C U L T U R E Cutting across traditional boundaries between the human and social sciences, volumes in the American Culture series study the multiplicity of cultural practices from theoretical, historical, and ethnographic perspectives by examining culture's production, circulation, and consumption. Edited byStanley Aronowitz, Nancy Fraser, andGeorge Lipsitz 13. Jennifer Burwell, Notes onNowhere: Feminism, Utopian Logic, and Social Transformation 12. John Bloom, A House of Cards:Baseball Card Collecting and Popular Culture 11. David R. Shumway, Creating American Civilization: A Genealogy of American Literature asanAcademic Field 10. Lisa Bloom, Gender onIce:American IdeologiesofPolar Expeditions 9. Michael Eric Dyson, Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism 8. Paul Smith, Clint Eastwood: A Cultural Production 7. Maria Damon, The Dark End of the Street:Margins inAmerican VanguardPoetry 6. Virginia Carmichael, Framing History: TheRosenbergStory and the Cold War 5. Elayne Rapping, The Movie of the Week:Private Stories/Public Events 4. George Lipsitz, Time Passages: CollectiveMemory and American Popular Culture 3. Alice Echols, Daring toBeBad: Radical Feminism inAmerica, 1697-1975 2. Nancy Walker, A VerySerious Thing: Women'sHumor andAmerican Culture 1. Henry Giroux, Schooling and the Strugglefor Public Life: Critical Pedagogyin the Modern Age Notes on Nowhere Feminism, Utopian Logic, and SocialTransformation Jennifer Burwell American Culture, Volume 13 University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London Copyright 1997 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Burwell, Jennifer. Notes on nowhere : feminism, Utopian logic, and social transformation / Jennifer Burwell. p. cm. — (American culture ; v. 13) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8166-2638-3 (he : acid-free paper) ISBN 0-8166-2639-1 (pbk. : acid-free paper) 1.American fiction—Women authors—History and criticism. 2. Utopias in literature. 3. Feminism and literature—United States—History—20th century. 4. Literature and society—United States—History—20th century. 5. Women and literature—United States—History—20th century. 6. American fiction—20th century— History and criticism. 7. Social problems in literature. 8. Logic in literature. I. Title. II. Series:American culture (Minneapolis, Minn.) ;v. 13 PS374.U8B87 1996 813'.5409372—dc20 96-31507 The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. For Julie This page intentionally left blank ...