Understanding Kristeva Understanding Modernism

UNDERSTANDING KRISTEVA, UNDERSTANDING MODERNISM.

Understanding Kristeva, Understanding Modernism

Julia Kristeva has revolutionized the study of modernism by developing a theoretical approach that is uniquely attuned to the dynamic interplay between, on the one hand, linguistic and formal experimentation, and, on the other hand, subjective crisis and socio-political upheaval. Inspired by the contestatory spirit of the late 1960s in which she emerged as a theorist, Kristeva has defended the project of the European avant-gardes and has systematically attempted to reclaim their legacy in the new societal structures produced by a global, spectacle-dominated capitalism. Understanding Kristeva, Understanding Modernism brings together essays that take up the threads in Kristeva's analyses of the avant-garde, offering an appreciation of her overall contribution, the intellectual and political horizon within which she has produced her seminal works as well as of the blind spots that need to be acknowledged in any contemporary examination of her insights. As with other volumes in this series, this volume is structured in three parts. The first part provides new readings of key texts or central aspects in Kristeva's oeuvre. The second part takes up the task of showing the impact of Kristeva's thought on the appreciation of modernist concerns and strategies in a variety of fields: literature, philosophy, the visual arts, and dance. The third part is a glossary of some of Kristeva's key terms, with each entry written by an expert contributor.

Different Voices

The concept of the "human" has been broadly re-visited and modified, and the term "posthuman" has now become a term of continuous inquiry. Gender (representations) play(s) a critical role in works of literature, culture, and art, and focusing on gender is crucial to uncovering the anthropocentrism or androcentrism that may underlie the work and the times to which it belongs. While maintaining a solid literary emphasis, the ten chapters included in this volume focus on feminist debates about women, technology, and the body, on gender representation and the posthuman, on post-gender figurations, on gender and trans/post/humanism, biotechnology/biopolitics/bioethics, on feminist posthumanism, on animals, the human-machine, and ecological posthumanism. The aim of the volume is to analyse how useful these concepts may be for thinking about the subject, its definition and identity in a changing society.