Synopses & Reviews
This book addresses the central crisis in critical theory today: the attempts to theorize the subject as both a construct of discourse and a dialogical agent. In Theorising Textual Subjects, Meili Steele argues that it is possible to understand the postmodern subject as an active political agent. Steele argues that some of the most influential theories of agency fail to account for the ethical implications of the supposed contingency of all contexts. Through wide reference to leading political, philosophical and critical thinkers, this book maps new ways of confronting the problem of how politics and ethics are deployed in imaginative narratives.
Review
"With an admirable attention to methodological detail, Steele reviews a formidable array of theorists and the contemporary political/ethical debates thay have generated. Through his suggestive narrative readings he illustrates the relevance of fictional strategies to his presiding concern with agency and its dynamics." John Hopkins University Press"Meili Steele Theorizing Textual Subjects is an impressive work that attempts to bridge the gap between the concerns of various critical theories....essential reading for anyone intrested in critical thought. American Literature"With an admiral attention to methodlogical detaile, Steele reviews a formidable array of theorists and the contemporary political/ethical debates thay have generated. Through his suggestive narrative readings he illustrates the relevance of fictional strategies to his presiding concern with agency and its dynamics." MLN"...[Steele]...enters fruitfully into a dialogue that has remained static for too long. Theorizing Textual Subject is consequently essential reading for anyone interested in critical thought. ...Steele's ability to formulate and then critique contemporary critical problems makes for a provocative and admirable study." Priscilla Walton, American Literature
Synopsis
Addresses one of the central crises in critical theory today: how to theorise the subject as both a construct of oppressive discourse and a dialogical agent.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-223) and index.
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. Stories of oppression and appeals to freedom; 2. Language, ethics, and subjectivity in the liberal/communitarian debate; 3. Theorising narratives of agency and subjection; 4. Truth, beauty, and goodness in James's The Ambassadors; 5. The subject of democracy in the work of Ralph Ellison; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.