Guri Barstad & Karen P. Knutsen 
States of Decadence [PDF ebook] 
On the Aesthetics of Beauty, Decline and Transgression across Time and Space Volume 2

States of Decadence is a two volume anthology that focuses on the literary and cultural phenomenon of decadence. Particular attention is given to literature from the end of the 1800s, the fin de siecle; however, the essays presented here are not restricted to this historical period, but draw lines both back in time and forward to our day to illuminate the contradictory multiplicity inherent in decadence. Furthermore, the essays go beyond literary studies, drawing on a number of the tropes and themes of decadence manifested in the arts and culture, such as in music, opera, film, history, and even jewelry design. Volume 2 comprises essays on the following thematic areas: "Images of Decadent Women", "Transmedia Decadence", "Contemporary Decadence", and "Poetic Decadence". The contributors are part of an active network of international scholars from many different countries. As the expansive title of the volume suggests, they explore the decadent aesthetic approach to the arts, to culture, and to a worldview that juxtaposes a strange mixture of conservatism and rebellion, ambivalence and deep convictions.