The Death and Return of the Author: Criticism and Subjectivity in Barthes, Foucault, and Derrida - Couverture souple

Burke, Dr. Sean

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0748603611 ISBN 13 : 9780748603619

Editeur : Edinburgh University Press, 1992

Synopsis

The death of the author in our times has assumed a significance perhaps comparable only to the death of God in the 19th century, yet no clear state ment of what is meant by this notion has appeared in critical theory. In this study, Sean Burke provides not only a detailed explanation of this movement, but shows also how the attempt to abolish the author is fundamentally misguided and philosophically untenable. Through close readings, Burke demonstrates that the concept of the author remained profoundly active even as its disappearaance was being articulated. He demolishes poststructuralist positions on the issue and proposes a revitalized concept of authorship for the modern era.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

For the late twentieth century, the death of the author assumed a significance analogous to the death of God one hundred years previously. In this now classic study, Sean Burke both provides the first detailed explanation of anti-authorialism and shows how, even taken on its own terms, the attempt to abolish the author is philosophically untenable. Rather than developing a traditionally humanist defence, Burke effectively out-theorises theory through rigorous readings which demonstrate that the concept of the author remained profoundly active even and especially as its disappearance was being articulated.The question of the author, he argues, is not a question within theory but the question of theory. Building on a substantially revised second edition, Burke further explores the challenges faced by an authorial theory that is 'still to come'. Prompted by the responses to the passing of Jacques Derrida in 2004, he revisits the enigmatic borderlines between life and work, life and (authorial) death. Features of the third edition: a 5,000-word Preface which considers Derrida's legacy and the future of authorial theory; two new chapters which submit the biographical and autobiographical to independent theoretical scrutiny; and, a fully updated bibliography.

Biographie de l'auteur

Sean Burke worked in the Department of English Studies at the University of Durham for thirteen years. His academic publications include Authorship: From Plato to the Postmodern: A Reader (1995) and The Ethics of Writing: Authorship and Legacy in Plato and Nietzsche (2008). His first novel, Deadwater (2002) has been published in France as Au bout des docks (2007). He is currently researching a study of discursive ethics in Plato, Levinas and Derrida.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Edinburgh University Press
• Date d'édition: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0748603611
• ISBN 13: 9780748603619
• Reliure: Broché
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 240
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible