Bad Behavior: Samuel Johnson and Modern Cultural Authority

Situating Johnson within a historical and sociological model of modernity adopted from critical theory, this book argues that Johnsons double self-construction as at once high-cultural sage and popular hack engages tensions between learned andMoreSituating Johnson within a historical and sociological model of modernity adopted from critical theory, this book argues that Johnsons double self-construction as at once high-cultural sage and popular hack engages tensions between learned and commercial cultures in the emerging public sphere of modern civil society. Wechselblatt investigates the critical reduction of Johnsons discourse to its maxims and the relation of this critical practice to the peculiarly modern identification felt by fans toward celebrities.