《Post-structuralism Starting Questions》.pptVIP

Post-structuralism: Starting Questions What are the foundations (or centers) in your life? Are they universal foundations? Is there any eternal Truth? How do you describe your “self”? Is it always possible to find out the central meaning, or unity, of the literary texts we read? On what grounds can we compare 阿甘正傳 with The Age of Innocence, 人間四月天 with 很愛很愛你? Post-Structuralism Postmodern Texts Post-Structuralism Defined Marxism vs. Post-Structuralism Fiction and Reality: Examples 1: context into text, 2: life//story-telling , 3: parody 4. Other kinds of “fiction” Deconstruction 4. Subject and Power Post-Structuralism Defined What is post-structuralism? An anti-foundationalist mode of thinking prevalent in the second half of the 20th c. Foundations: Reality Representation Man Subject Truth; History; God, . . ., any kind of Totalization and Center. Différance and Discourse Poststructuralism: Major Concerns “Representation” – Re-presentation or realistic presentation is impossible. metafiction – Meanings of a text cannot be fixed; must be un-decidable or multiple. Deconstruction Textualization of Knowledge, Subject and Society e.g. Foucault – Truth is provisional. – Subjects are fragmentary. – Society is a network of discourses. Marxism vs. Post-Structuralism Economic Base as Society’s Foundation Class as the most important category History of class struggle, or Materialist view of history Society as network Provisionary forming of group/personal identity History is also a narrative. Fiction and Reality Fiction Reality Belief History Memory Life Identity Example I: Context (Author Viewers) astext; the royal couple put insidethe mirror. Example II-1: Tristram Shandy (1759 and 1766) Life // storytelling—telling story to prolong life Shandy o