JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 14, 2021) – East Tennessee State University will host a public lecture by Dr. D. Michael Jones titled “Hardboiled Hysterics: Modernity and Impossible Masculinities” at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Reece Museum. The event is part of the Sigma Tau Delta lecture series sponsored by ETSU’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society that promotes universal literacy, excellence in writing and appreciation of the literary arts.
Jones is an assistant professor in the ETSU Literature and Language Department. He published his first book, “The Byronic Hero and the Rhetoric of Masculinity in
the 19th Century British Novel,” in 2017.
The talk will cover modern masculinity and its roots in 19th century literature. From
action movies to video games to sports culture, modern masculinity is intrinsically
associated with violent competition, Jones said. This legacy has its roots in the
19th century Romantic figure of the Byronic hero: devoted husband, sexual revolutionary
and weaponized servant of the state. His silhouette can be traced through the works
of authors like Lord Byron, Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling and
Oscar Wilde.
More than a literary genealogy, this history of the Byronic hero and his heirs follow
the changes that masculinity has undergone in response to industrial upheaval, the
rise of the middle class and the demands of global competition, from the Victorian
period through the early 20th century, according to Jones.
For more information, contact the Department of Literature and Language at 423-439-
4339 or litlang@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.