Julia Kristeva

One of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century, Julia Kristeva has been driving forward the fields of literary and cultural studies since the 1960s. This volume is an accessible, introductory guide to the main themes of Kristeva's work, including her ideas on: *semiotics and symbolism *abjection *melancholia *feminism *revolt. McAfee provides clear explanations of the more difficult aspects of Kristeva's theories, helpfully placing her ideas in the relevant theoretical context, be it literary theory, psychoanalysis, linguistics, gender studies or philosophy, and demonstrates the impact of her critical interventions in these areas. Julia Kristeva is the essential guide for readers who are approaching the work of this challenging thinker for the first time, and provides the ideal opportunity for those with more knowledge to re-familiarise themselves with Kristeva's key terms.

Ò . . . a thorough, detailed, and critical analysis of the writings of Julia Kristeva.Ó ÑElizabeth GroszThe complex and provocative theories of the French philosopher and psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva are clearly and thoroughly explicated by Kelly Oliver in this first full-scale feminist interpretation of KristevaÕs work. Situating Kristeva within the context of French feminism, Oliver guides her readers through KristevaÕs intellectual formation in linguistics, Freud, Lacan, and poetics. OliverÕs readings of Kristeva indicate ways in which controversial concepts such as the semiotic, abjection, the maternal function, herethics, and the imaginary father can be useful for feminist theory. Oliver shows that KristevaÕs writings attempt to unravel the double-bind between static identity, or totalitarianism, on the one hand, and the complete loss of identity, or delirium, on the other. This comprehensive introduction to Kristeva makes accessible her important contributions to philosophy, linguistics, and psychoanalytic feminism.

Spanning 24 centuries, this anthology collects over thirty selections of important Western writing about melancholy and its related conditions by philosophers, doctors, religious and literary figures, and modern psychologists. Truly interdisciplinary, it is the first such anthology. As it traces Western attitudes, it reveals a conversation across centuries and continents as the authors interpret, respond, and build on each other's work. Editor Jennifer Radden provides an extensive, in-depth introduction that draws links and parallels between the selections, and reveals the ambiguous relationship between these historical accounts of melancholy and today's psychiatric views on depression. This important new collection is also beautifully illustrated with depictions of melancholy from Western fine art.

Philosophy and the Maternal Body also draws upon the work of Althusser and Lyotard - figures often overlooked in feminist theory - clearly showing how their work bears importantly on the silence of the feminine. Throughout, Michelle Boulous Walker questions the assumptions that silence is simply the absence of language and presents highly significant new strategies for understanding how silence operates.

In the last decades of the twentieth century, French poststructuralist 'theory' transformed the humanities; it also met with resistance and today we frequently hear that theory is 'dead'.In this brilliantly argued volume, Colin Davis:*reconsiders key arguments for and against theory, identifying significant misreadings*reassesses the contribution of poststructuralist thought to the critical issues of knowledge, ethics, hope and identity*sheds new light on the work of Jean-François Lyotard, Emmanuel Levinas, Louis Althusser and Julia Kristeva in a stunning series of readings*offers a fresh perspective on recent debates around the death of theory.In closing he argues that theory may change, but it will not go away. After poststructuralism, then, comes the afterlife of poststructuralism.Wonderfully accessible, this is an account of the past and present fortunes of theory, suitable for anyone researching, teaching, or studying in the field. And yet it is much more than this. Colin Davis provides a way forward for the humanities - a way forward in which theory will play a crucial part.

Poststructuralism--as a name for a mode of thinking, a style of philosophizing, a kind of writing--has exercised a profound influence upon contemporary Western thought and the institution of the university. As a French and predominantly Parisian affair, poststructuralism is inseparable from the intellectual milieu of postwar France, a world dominated by Alexandre Kojeve's and Jean Hyppolite's interpretations of Hegel, Jacques Lacan's reading of Freud, Gaston Bachelard's epistemology, George Canguilhem's studies of science, and Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism. It is also inseparable from the "structuralist" tradition of linguistics based upon the work of Ferdinand de Saussure and Roman Jacobson, and the structuralist interpretations of Claude Levi-Strauss, Roland Barthes, Louis Althusser, and the early Michel Foucault. Poststructuralism, considered in terms of contemporary cultural history, can be understood as belonging to the broad movement of European formalism, with explicit historical linksto both Formalist and Futurist linguistics and poetics, and with aspects of the European avant-garde, especially Andre Breton's surrealism. Each essay in this unique collection by and for educators is devoted to the work and educational significance of one of ten major poststructuralist philosophers.

Beginning with Freud's views on religion and mystical experience this volume surveys the work of 3 generations of psychoanalytic theorists. Special attention is given to objects relations theory and ego psychology.

Since its publication in 1990, Gender Trouble has become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture.