Understanding Kristeva, Understanding Modernism

by Maria Margaroni (Editor), Paul Ardoin (Editor), S. E. Gontarski (Editor), Laci Mattison (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765102169
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/27/2024
Series:	Understanding Philosophy, Understanding Modernism
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Maria Margaroni is Associate Professor in Literary Theory and Feminist Thought at the University of Cyprus. She is the author, with John Lechte, of Julia Kristeva: Live Theory (Bloomsbury, 2004) and has edited four books, including, with Arleen Ionescu, Arts of Healing: Cultural Narratives of Trauma (2020).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Kristeva at the Bleeding-Edge of Modernism
Maria Margaroni, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

Part I: Conceptualizing Kristeva
1. Kristeva Telle Quelle: A Seductive Encounter
Danielle Marx-Scouras, Ohio State University, USA
2. Julia Kristeva: Chora, Infinity, Modernism
John Lechte, Macquarie University, Australia
3. Indifferent Feminine: Kristeva and the Avant-Garde
Miglena Nikolchina, Sofia University, Bulgaria
4. Modernist Trajectories in Time: Kristeva's The Enchanted Clock
Carol Mastrangelo-Bové, University of Pittsburgh, USA
5. Sanctity and Scandal: Teresa and the Challenge of 19th century 'False Mysticism'
Martha J. Reineke, University of Northern Iowa, USA
6. Kristeva's Traumatic Real: Securing the Symbolic Nation through the Law of the Veil
Tina Chanter, Newcastle University, UK
7. Kristeva on Arendt: Politics and the Subject
Robin Truth Goodman, Florida State University, USA

Part II: Kristeva and Aesthetics
8. Modernism Unleashed and Restrained: Joyce, Céline and Arendt in Kristeva's Tale of the Century
Marios Constantinou, Independent Scholar, Cyprus
9. The Fabric of Gothic Modernism: Powers of Horror in M. R. James's 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'
Nicholas Chare, Université de Montréal, QC, Canada
10. The Impact of Kristeva's Theory of Abjection on Modernist Art
Rina Arya, University of Huddersfield, UK
11. Androgynous and a Foreigner: Orlando's Revolt
Christina Kkona, Bordeaux-Montaigne University, France
12. 'Let it end, this cold insanity. Let it happen.' Kristeva's Melancholic Modernism and the Parisian Novels of Jean Rhys
Rossitsa Terzieva-Artemis, University of Nicosia, Cyprus
13. The Mirror Before the Mirror: Reflections on Kristeva and Martha Graham's Hérodiade
Robert R. Shane, College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY, USA

Part III: Glossary
14. Abjection
David Koloszyc, Vanier College, Montreal, QC, Canada
15. Avant-Garde
Christos Hadjiyiannis, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
16. Female Genius
Elisabetta Convento, Boston University, USA
17. Intertextuality
Gertrude Postl, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY, USA
18. Intimate Revolt
Gertrude Postl, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY, USA
19. Spirituality
Alison Jasper, University of Stirling, UK
20. Subject-in-process/on trial
Esther Hutfless and Elisabeth Schäfer, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
21. The Semiotic/The Symbolic
David Koloszyc, Vanier College, Montreal, QC, Canada
Index

Editorial Reviews

Erudite. Intriguing. Capacious. This book is not an introduction but rather a kaleidoscopic deep-dive into Kristevian thought, at the intersections of literature, philosophy, politics, psychoanalysis, all in the context of European modernism. A serious and timely collection of new perspectives on the work of one of the most important intellectuals of our time.” —Alice Jardine, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality, Harvard University, USA, and author of At the Risk of Thinking: An Intellectual Biography of Julia Kristeva (Bloomsbury, 2020)

“This important collection cements Kristeva's status as one of the most important interlocutors of the European modernist avant-garde. Her revolutionary agenda – which she herself has described as situated at the razor's edge between poetry and reality, and which spans over half a decade of prolific writing – is both celebrated and scrutinized by the authors gathered in this volume. Each examines the many faces of modernism as they emerge in her work (revolutionary, sublimatory, abject, melancholic, self-critical…), and as they relate to aesthetic and theoretical considerations, or what Maria Margaroni describes in her introduction as the bleeding edge of modernism. This is essential reading not only to Kristeva scholars but also to those trying to understand, more generally, the legacy of the modernist project for our troubled times.” —Fanny Söderbäck, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Södertörn University, Sweden

“This interdisciplinary collection provides an original analysis of the constitutive role of European modernisms in Kristeva's thought and in turban shows a critical relevance of Kristeva's theory for modernist studies. An indispensable reading for anyone interested in vexed transnational dialogues between modern aesthetics, politics and psychoanalysis.” —Ewa Ziarek, Professor of Comparative Literature and Global Gender And Sexuality Studies, University at Buffalo, USA

From the Publisher