
Performativity
James Loxley(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 17. November 2006
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-0-415-32925-5 (ISBN)
Description
Do our writings and our utterances reflect or describe our world, or do they intervene in it? Do they, perhaps, help to make it? If so, how? Within what limits, and with what implications? Contemporary theorists have considered the ways in which the languages we speak might be 'performative' in just this way, and their thinking on the topic has had an important impact on a broad range of academic disciplines.
In this accessible introduction to a sometimes complex field, James Loxley:
offers a concise and original account of critical debates around the idea of performativity
traces the history of the concept through the work of such influential theorists as J. L. Austin, John Searle, Stanley Fish, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man and Judith Butler
examines the implications of performativity for fields such as literary and cultural theory, philosophy, performance studies, and the theory of gender and sexuality.
emphasises the political and ethical implications that its most important theorists have drawn from the notion of performativity
suggests ways in which major debates around the topic have obscured its alternative interpretations and uses.
For students trying to make sense of performativity and related concepts such as the speech act, 'ordinary language', and iterability, and for those seeking to understand the place of these ideas in contemporary performance theory, this clear guide will prove indispensable. Performativity offers not only a path through challenging critical terrain, but a new understanding of just what is at stake in the exploration of this field.
In this accessible introduction to a sometimes complex field, James Loxley:
offers a concise and original account of critical debates around the idea of performativity
traces the history of the concept through the work of such influential theorists as J. L. Austin, John Searle, Stanley Fish, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man and Judith Butler
examines the implications of performativity for fields such as literary and cultural theory, philosophy, performance studies, and the theory of gender and sexuality.
emphasises the political and ethical implications that its most important theorists have drawn from the notion of performativity
suggests ways in which major debates around the topic have obscured its alternative interpretations and uses.
For students trying to make sense of performativity and related concepts such as the speech act, 'ordinary language', and iterability, and for those seeking to understand the place of these ideas in contemporary performance theory, this clear guide will prove indispensable. Performativity offers not only a path through challenging critical terrain, but a new understanding of just what is at stake in the exploration of this field.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 209 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
312 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-32925-5 (9780415329255)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Person
James Loxley is senior lecturer in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of several books and articles on seventeenth century drama and poetry and on literary theory and philosophy.
Content
Introduction 1. From the Performative to the Speech Act: J.L. Austin 2. Philosophy and Ordinary Language: Austin and Cavell 3. A General Theory of Speech Acts: Searle 4. Speech Acts, Fiction and Deconstruction: Searle, Fish and Derrida 5. Performativity, Iterability and Politics: Derrida and De Man 6. Being Performative: Butler 7. Performativity and Performance Theory