Talking Cure : : An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation / / Paula Marantz Cohen.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2023 English
• VerfasserIn: Cohen, Paula Marantz,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 p.)

An invigorating exploration of the pleasures and social benefits of conversationTalking Cure is a timely and enticing excursion into the art of good conversation. Paula Marantz Cohen reveals how conversation connects us in ways that social media never can, and explains why simply talking to each other freely and without guile may be the cure to what ails our troubled society.Drawing on her lifelong immersion in literature and culture and her decades of experience as a teacher and critic, Cohen argues that we learn to converse in our families and then carry that knowledge into a broader world where we encounter diverse opinions and sensibilities. She discusses the role of food in encouraging conversation, the challenges of writing dialogue in fiction, the pros and cons of Zoom, the relationship of conversation to vaudeville acts, and the educational value of a good college seminar where students learn to talk about ideas. Cohen looks at some of the famous groups of writers and artists in history whose conversation fed their creativity, and details some of the habits that can result in bad conversation.Blending the immediacy of the most beautifully crafted memoir with the conviviality of an intimate gathering with friends, Talking Cure makes a persuasive case for the civilizing value of conversation and is essential reading for anyone interested in the chatter that fuels culture.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Why Converse? -- 2. Defining and Representing Conversation -- 3. Food, Drink, and Conversation -- 4. Bad Conversation -- 5. Talking with the French -- 6. Schools of Talk -- 7. The Rise of the Novel—and Female Talk -- 8. Conversation as Public Entertainment -- 9. Conversation on Campus -- 10. Shakespeare on Zoom -- Conclusion -- Coda -- Bibliographical Essay -- Index