The Corvette in Literature and Culture

Jerry W. Passon has taught in a range of educational environments. His interests include automobiles, literature and film. He lives in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I—The Corvette: The Empty, the American, and the Deadly Signifier

 1. Automobility

 2. The Deadly Signifier

 3. The Corvette: A Scholarly Review

 4. The Corvette in Literature: Selected Examples

Part II—The Image of Potency: The Corvette, Males, and Minorities

 5. The Masculine Object

 6. Automobility, White Masculinity, and Patriarchy

 7. The Corvette and the Media

 8. The Sting Ray, the Space Race, and Masculine Technology

 9. The Corvette and Black Masculinity

10. Gay Masculinity, Automobility, and “Other” Identities

Between pages 116 and 117 are 8 color plates containing 17 images

Part III—Women, Sex, and Identity as Power: The Corvette, Baddest Mother of Them

11. The Gendered Object

12. The “Female” Corvette and the Struggle for Freedom and Identity

13. The Female Gaze and New Identities

14. Empowered Women and the “Resignified” Corvette

15. Dreams, Romance, and the “Endless” Corvette

Part IV—The Corvette as Art: The Expressive Image

16. Images with Power

17. The Corvette as Concept: The Automobile as “Art”

18. The Corvette Image in Advertising and Media: Beyond Route 66

19. The Art of Design: The Fashionable Corvette

20. The Corvette as Art: Examples and Theories

Conclusion: The Corvette, Image and Object

Works Cited

Index