Louisiana Tech Assistant Professor Benjamin Bergholtz will hold two events celebrating his recently published book, Swallowing a World: Globalization and the Maximalist Novel.
The first reading and book talk will take place from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 in George T. Madison Hall Room 105 on Tech’s campus. The second will be from 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 at No. 9 Books in Ruston.
At its core, the book is an argument for reading long, complicated novels, Bergholtz said.
“A lot of general readers but also academics assume such novels–which I call ‘maximalist novels’ –are excessive and exhausting, and they also assume that they are mostly produced in the U.S.,” he said. “My book complicates both of these assumptions. I argue that the maximalist novel is a global phenomenon and an artistic response to globalization — which, in very simple terms, refers to the planet becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent.”
Bergholtz, in his book, states that reading these novels is challenging but also rewarding because they help readers understand and engage with some of the most significant political problems confronting society today, such as information overload, the legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism, and climate change.
“I imagine three sorts of readers for my book,” he said. “First and foremost, other academics, graduate students and undergraduates who are interested in big novels. Second, scholars and students of contemporary global literature. These two audiences are probably my main readers, as it is an academic book published by a university press (Nebraska UP). That said, I do strive to write in a way that is engaging and accessible to general readers. So, in theory, anyone who is interested in the sorts of novels I write about would find my book enjoyable and, I hope, persuasive.”
Bergholtz said the two book readings and discussions are to present his research on this subject in a way that is accessible and engaging. While this week’s event primarily is geared toward collegiate faculty and students, the second is focused more for a non-academic audience.
“People should attend one of my events if they are interested in reading big novels or, dare I say, reading novels at all,” Bergholtz said. “I’ve been to enough academic events to know that, at times, they are too complicated to be comprehended. To avoid this, I’m only going to read about 10 pages, but will split these pages up with explanatory commentary, a visual aid, and, in the second half, Q&A.”
Bergholtz received his PhD from LSU in 2018, and he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2018 to 2019. His scholarship appears in Contemporary Literature, Genre, Electronic Book Review, Film International, and Mississippi Quarterly. Swallowing a World is his first book.
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