Understanding Poststructuralism (Understanding Movements in Modern Thought)

✍ Scribed by James Williams

• Publisher: Acumen
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 191
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Understanding Poststructuralism presents a lucid guide to some of the most exciting and controversial ideas in contemporary thought. This is the first introduction to poststructuralism through its major theorists - Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault, Lyotard, Kristeva - and their central texts. Each chapter takes the reader through a key text, providing detailed summaries of the main points of each and a critical and detailed analysis of their central arguments. Ideas are clearly explained in terms of their value to both critical thinking and to contemporary issues. Criticisms of poststructuralism are also assessed. The aim throughout is to illuminate the main methods of poststructuralism - deconstruction, libidinal economics, genealogy and transcendental empiricism - in context. A balanced and up-to-date assessment of poststructuralism, the book presents the ideal introduction to this most revolutionary of philosophies.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 8
Abbreviations......Page 10
1. Introduction: what is poststructuralism......Page 12
2. Poststructuralism as deconstruction: Jacques Derrida's "Of Grammatology"......Page 36
3. Poststructuralism as philosophy of difference: Gilles Deleuze's "Difference and Repetition"......Page 64
4. Poststructuralism as philosophy of the event: Jean-Francois Lyotard's "Discours, figure"......Page 90
5. Poststructuralism, history, genealogy: Michel Foucault's "The Archaeology of Knowledge"......Page 116
6. Poststructuralism, pschoanalysis, linguistics: Julia Kristeva's "Revolution in Poetic Language"......Page 144
7. Conclusion: poststructuralism into the future......Page 164
Questions for discussion and revision......Page 178
Further reading......Page 182
Publications timeline......Page 185
Index......Page 188