Subjectivity

"Subjectivity" explores the history of theories of selfhood, from the Classical Era to the present, and demonstrates how those theories can be applied in literary and cultural criticism. It examines all the major methodologies and theoretical emphases of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including psychoanalytic analysis, materialist theories, feminist analysis and queer theory. Each chapter includes applications of the theories discussed, with detailed readings of a wide variety of literary and cultural texts, including novels, poetry, drama, film, the visual arts and autobiography.

Donald E Hall examines our current obsession with perfecting our selves and looks to the future of selfhood given new technologies and identity possibilities.

Explores the history of theories of selfhood, from the Classical era to the present, and demonstrates how those theories can be applied in literary and cultural criticism.Donald E. Hall: * examines all of the major methodologies and theoretical emphases of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including psychoanalytic criticism, materialism, feminism and queer theory* applies the theories discussed in detailed readings of literary and cultural texts, from novels and poetry to film and the visual arts* offers a unique perspective on our current obsession with perfecting our selves * looks to the future of selfhood given the new identity possibilities arising out of developing technologies. Examining some of the most exciting issues confronting cultural critics and readers today, Subjectivity is the essential introduction to a fraught but crucial critical term and a challenge to the way we define our selves.

Series Editor's Preface Introduction What is Subjectivity? Classical and Pre-Modern Identities 1. Descartes and the "I" Locke, Kant and the "We" 2. The Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Slavery and Subjectives Wollstonecraft and Early Modren Feminist Subjectivity Marx and Class Subjectivity Freud and the Rise of the Social Sciences Nietzsche and the Existentialists 3. The Politics of IdentityLacan, Althusser, Foucault and Discourse Theory The Politics of Gender and Sexuality, Race and Postcoloniality 4. Postmodernism and the Question of Agency Haraway and Cyborg Subjectivity Subjectives Glossary Bibliography Index