Between the Psyche and the Social is the first collection of its kind to offer original, interdisciplinary essays on questions of social subjectivity. Contributors engage the disciplines of feminism, psychoanalytic theory, queer theory, postcolonial theory, film theory, literary criticism, and philosophy to transform the psychoanalytic study of social oppression. The book considers such questions as, How can psychoanalysis and critical social theory engage and transform one another? How can the social dimensions of subjectivity be understood within the framework of a classic psychoanalytic...

Presenting new and important scholarship in feminist language theory, this book addresses issues within diverse traditions, bringing together feminist positions, strategies, and styles in an original way. Gathering together authors with different backgrounds and methods, Language and Liberation puts this diverse scholarship into dialogue.

The questions and concerns reflected in these essays are presented within the context of their historical background, provided by the editors' comprehensive Introduction. These questions include: Is there a distinction between "female" and "male"...

As an internationally respected feminist philosopher, radical social and political theorist, and tireless activist, Teresa Brennan (1952-2003) was one of the most provocative thinkers of our time. Living Attention is a tribute to the significance of her thought and a testament to the transformative power of her life.

This book demonstrates the scope of Brennan's thought as it continues to challenge academics, public intellectuals, and government leaders. Her concerns ranged from the implications of psychoanalytic theory to relations between men and women to the effects of globalization...

The work of the distinguished philosopher Sarah Kofman has, since her tragic death in 1994, become a focus for many scholars interested in contemporary French philosophy. The first critical collection on her thought to appear in English, Enigmas evaluates Kofman's most important contributions to philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, feminism, and literary theory. These insightful essays range from analyses of Kofman's first book, L'Enfance de l'art (1970), to her last, L'Imposture de la beaute (1995). This unique volume represents the major themes in Kofman's scholarship: literature and...

Challenging the fundamental tenet of the multicultural movement -- that social struggles turning upon race, gender, and sexuality are struggles for recognition -- this work offers a powerful critique of current conceptions of identity and subjectivity based on Hegelian notions of recognition. The author's critical engagement with major texts of contemporary philosophy prepares the way for a highly original conception of ethics based on witnessing.

Central to this project is Oliver's contention that the demand for recognition is a symptom of the pathology of oppression that perpetuates...

Among the elements that define the classic film noir -- chiaroscuro lighting, voice-over narration, and such archetypal characters as the world-weary private eye and the femme fatale -- perhaps no element is more responsible for the genre's continued popularity among movie buffs, filmmakers, and critics than the palpable sense of anxiety that emanates from the screen. Because the genre emerged in the shadow of the Second World War, this profound psychological and philosophical unease is usually ascribed either to postwar fears about the atomic bomb or to the reactions of returning soldiers to...

Among the elements that define the classic film noir -- chiaroscuro lighting, voice-over narration, and such archetypal characters as the world-weary private eye and the femme fatale -- perhaps no element is more responsible for the genre's continued popularity among movie buffs, filmmakers, and critics than the palpable sense of anxiety that emanates from the screen. Because the genre emerged in the shadow of the Second World War, this profound psychological and philosophical unease is usually ascribed either to postwar fears about the atomic bomb or to the reactions of returning soldiers to...

Oliver (philosophy, Vanderbilt U.) does not attempt to apply psychoanalysis to oppression. Rather she transforms psychoanalytic concepts such as alienation, melancholy, and shame into social concepts by developing a psychoanalytic theory based on a notion of the individual or psyche that is thoroughly social. The psyche and the social world are so

In this volume, philosopher and feminist theorist, Kelly Oliver, takes a look at aspects of popular culture, film, science and law to examine contemporary notions of paternity and maternity. She studies the role of paternal responsibility, virility and race in such events as the Million Man March and the growth of the Promise Keeper's movement and suggests alternative ways to conceive of self-other relations and the subjective identity at stake in them. In addition, she offers a detailed analysis of particular works by film-makers such as Polanski, Bergman and Varda in developing a theory of...

French Feminism Reader is a collection of essays representing the authors and issues from French theory most influential in the American context. The book is designed for use in courses, and it includes illuminating introductions to the work of each author. These introductions include biographical information, influences and intellectual context, major themes in the author's work as a whole, and specific introductions to the selections in this volume. The contributors represent the two trends in French theory that have proven most useful to American feminists: social theory and psychoanalytic...