Literary Theory and the Claims of History
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Satya P. Mohanty
About this book
At the core of postmodern thought, especially in literary theory, is the belief that such ideals as truth, reason, and objectivity are social constructs that have no universal or trans-historical validity. In exploring this constructivist view, Satya P. Mohanty examines its underlying epistemological claims and their social and political implications. His book points the way toward a critical alternative to the epistemological and cultural relativisms.
Mohanty grounds his critique in readings of some of the major figures of postmodernism, including Paul de Man, Louis Althusser, Fredric Jameson, and Jacques Derrida and analyzes the views of Mikhail Bakhtin, C. S. Peirce, Hilary Putnam, and Richard Rorty, particularly their notions of language and referentiality. Mohanty defends a post-positivist realist conception of objectivity as a legitimate ideal of all inquiry. He outlines a realist theory of social identity and multicultural politics which sees radical moral universalism and cultural diversity as complementary—not competing—ideals.
Author / Editor information
Satya P. Mohanty teaches in the Department of English at Cornell University.
Reviews
Mohanty's theory is provocativeand the prose remains mercifully clear. The book deserves and rewards attention even from readers who may... begin it with skepticism and finish it unconverted.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
vii -
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Acknowledgments
ix -
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Preface
xi -
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Introduction: Criticism as Politics
1 - Part One
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1. Paul de Man, Language, and the Politics of Meaning
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2. Reference and the Social Basis of Language
47 -
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3. The Limits of Althusser's Poststructuralist Marxism
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4. Jameson's Marxist Hermeneutics and the Need for an Adequate Epistemology
93 - Part Two
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5. Political Criticism and the Challenge of Otherness
116 -
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6. On Situating Objective Knowledge
149 -
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7. Identity, Multiculturalism, Justice
198 -
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Index
255
