Understanding Kristeva, Understanding Modernism

Description

Julia Kristeva has revolutionized the study of modernism by developing a theoretical approach that is uniquely attuned to the dynamic interplay between, on the one hand, linguistic and formal experimentation, and, on the other hand, subjective crisis and socio-political upheaval. Inspired by the contestatory spirit of the late 1960s in which she emerged as a theorist, Kristeva has defended the project of the European avant-gardes and has systematically attempted to reclaim their legacy in the new societal structures produced by a global, spectacle-dominated capitalism. Understanding Kristeva, Understanding Modernism brings together essays that take up the threads in Kristeva’s analyses of the avant-garde, offering an appreciation of her overall contribution, the intellectual and political horizon within which she has produced her seminal works as well as of the blind spots that need to be acknowledged in any contemporary examination of her insights. As with other volumes in this series, this volume is structured in three parts. The first part provides new readings of key texts or central aspects in Kristeva’s oeuvre. The second part takes up the task of showing the impact of Kristeva’s thought on the appreciation of modernist concerns and strategies in a variety of fields: literature, philosophy, the visual arts, and dance. The third part is a glossary of some of Kristeva’s key terms, with each entry written by an expert contributor. Cover Contents Notes on contributors Series preface Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction: Kristeva at the bleeding edge of modernism Maria Margaroni Part 1 Conceptualizing Kristeva 1 Kristeva telle quelle: A seductive encounter Danielle Marx-Scouras 2 Julia Kristeva: Chora, infinity, modernism John Lechte 3 Indifferent feminine: Kristeva and the avant-garde Miglena Nikolchina 4 Modernist trajectories in time: Kristeva’s The Enchanted Clock Carol Mastrangelo Bové 5 Sanctity and scandal: Teresa and the challenge of nineteenth-century ‘false mysticism’ Martha J. Reineke 6 Kristeva’s traumatic real: Securing the symbolic nation through the law of the veil Tina Chanter 7 Kristeva on Arendt: Politics and the subject Robin Truth Goodman Part 2 Kristeva and aesthetics 8 Modernism unleashed and restrained: Joyce, Céline and Arendt in Kristeva’s tale of the century Marios Constantinou 9 The fabric of gothic modernism: Powers of horror in M. R. James’ ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ Nicholas Chare 10 The impact of Kristeva’s theory of abjection on modernist art Rina Arya 11 Androgynous and a foreigner: Orlando’s revolt Christina Kkona 12 ‘Let it end, this cold insanity. Let it happen.’ Kristeva’s melancholic modernism and the Parisian novels of Jean Rhys Rossitsa Terzieva-Artemis 13 The mirror before the mirror: Reflections on Kristeva and Martha Graham’s Hérodiade Robert R. Shane Part 3 Glossary 14 Abjection Dawid Kołoszyc 15 Avant-garde Christos Hadjiyiannis 16 Female genius Elisabetta Convento 17 Intertextuality Gertrude Postl 18 Intimate revolt Gertrude Postl 19 Spirituality Alison Jasper 20 Subject in process/on trial Esther Hutfless and Elisabeth Schäfer 21 The semiotic/The symbolic Dawid Kołoszyc Index