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LITERATURE FINAL REPORT HARDCOPY - Odt
LITERATURE FINAL REPORT HARDCOPY - Odt
POST-STRUCTURALISM
GIST OF THE THEORY
In the post-structuralist approach to textual analysis, the reader
replaces the author as the primary subject of inquiry. This displacement is often
referred to as the "destabilizing" or "decentering" of the author, though it has its
greatest effect on the text itself. Without a central fixation on the author, poststructuralists examine other sources for meaning (e.g., readers, cultural norms,
other literature, etc.). These alternative sources are never authoritative, and
promise no consistency.
MAJOR PROPONENTS
Michel Foucault (19261984) and Jacques Derrida (19302004) eschewed any association with postmodernism. Postmodernism is as much a
sensibility or cultural mood as a specific doctrine. It implies a break with modern
modes of experiencing time and space, the dissolution of coherent meanings and
narratives, and changes in media of communication. Politically, postmodernism is
often seen as reflecting new forms of political organization such as global
capitalism or new social movements that reflect cultural difference rather than
unity.
Ferdinand de Saussure (18571913) - is generally recognized as the creator
of the modern theory of structuralism and the father of modern linguistics. He
aim was to place the study of language on a more scientific basis by breaking
with traditional, historically-oriented or diachronic (across time) approaches.
Instead, he suggest to treat language synchronically (at a time) as a system of
contrastive or differential features, a system without positive terms since the
relationship between signifier and signified (or word and concept) cannot be
understood on the model of a straightforward, one-to-one correspondence.
Claude Lvi-Strauss- He was considered as the father of structuralism. The
work of Lvi-Strauss was also key in the development of the theory of
structuralism and structural anthropology. He argued that the "savage" mind had
the same structures as the "civilized" mind and that human characteristics are the
same everywhere. These observations culminated in his famous book
Tristes_Tropiques.
STEPS IN ANALYZING A LITERARY TEXT
1. The verbal stage is similar to that of more conventional forms of New
Critical close reading that we studied earlier in the course. It involves
looking in the text for paradoxes and contradictions at what might be called
the purely verbal level. In addition to looking at the etymology of specific
words, you can look at the interrelationship between words, how they
create contradictions or inconsistencies that cannot be resolved. To do this
kind of analysis, all you really need to start is a copy of the work, a good
dictionary, and the dedication to be a close, observant reader.
2. The textual stage focuses on the relationship between common binary
3. The linguistic stage involves looking for moments when the adequacy of