Gender after Lyotard
Examines Lyotard’s writings in light of contemporary feminist theory.
Description
The revolutionary French thinker Jean-François Lyotard indicates in many of his writings that one of the most significant philosophical problems is the problem of gender. In spite of this, feminist thinkers in both the continental and Anglo-American traditions have largely ignored his work, perhaps because his approach to the question of gender is unsystematic, fluid, and difficult. This volume attempts to situate the central concerns of contemporary feminist theory—aesthetics, embodiment, performance, sexual difference, ethics, testimony—within Lyotard's writings, to show that these concerns have always been there. Contributors discuss film theory, body modification, feminist critiques of science, postholocaust art, the feminine sublime, and theater. As a whole, the book serves as a robust meditation on the nature of "the political" as understood by Lyotard, and demonstrates the many different ways in which feminist concerns are taken up in discussions regarding the nature of the political in contemporary continental thought. An afterword by James Williams—one of the world's leading Lyotard commentators—is included.
Margret Grebowicz is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Goucher College and the coeditor (with Valerie Kinloch) of Still Seeking an Attitude: Critical Reflections on the Work of June Jordan.
Reviews
"Ranging from politics to epistemology, from the theories of embodiment and aesthetics to colonialism, Gender after Lyotard stages a much-needed feminist engagement with diverse aspects of Lyotard's work. I am especially impressed by the comprehensive scope of this well-thought-out volume: it makes an important contribution to feminist theory and Lyotard studies alike." — Ewa PÂonowska Ziarek, author of An Ethics of Dissensus: Postmodernity, Feminism, and the Politics of Radical Democracy
"Marked by sensitivity to what Lyotard was about, this collection is the first to address Lyotard and gender." — Dawne McCance, author of Medusa's Ear: University Foundings from Kant to Chora L