Theory After 'Theory'

by Derek Attridge (editor), Jane Elliott (Editor)

This volume argues that theory, far from being dead, has undergone major shifts in order to come to terms with the most urgent cultural and political questions of today. Offering an overview of theory's new directions, this groundbreaking collection includes essays on affect, biopolitics, biophilosophy, the aesthetic, and neoliberalism, as well as examinations of established areas such as subaltern studies, the postcolonial, and ethics.Influential figures such as Agamben, Badiou, Arendt, Deleuze, Derrida and Meillassoux are examined in a range of contexts. Gathering together some of the top thinkers in the field, this volume not only speculates on the fate of theory but shows its current diversity, encouraging conversation between divergent strands. Each section places the essays in their contexts and stages a comparison between different but ultimately related ways in which key thinkers are moving beyond Amanda Anderson, Ray Brassier, Adriana Cavarero, Eva Cherniavsky, Rey Chow, Claire Colebrook, Laurent Dubreuil, Roberto Esposito, Simon Gikandi, Martin Hagglund, Peter Hallward, Brian Massumi, Peter Osborne, Elizabeth Povinelli, William Rasch, Henry Staten, Bernard Stiegler, Eugene Thacker, Cary Wolfe, Linda Zerilli.

Genres: Philosophy

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2010

About the author

Derek Attridge is a South African-born British literary scholar celebrated for his influential contributions to English literature, particularly in literary theory, poetic form, modernist fiction, and South African writing. He is especially noted for his work on James Joyce and J.M. Coetzee, and for his landmark study The Singularity of Literature, which won the European Society for the Study of English Book Award and has been translated into multiple languages. Across his career, Attridge has explored the ethical, rhythmic, and linguistic dimensions of literature, always emphasizing the transformative potential of reading.
He has authored or edited over thirty books and published scores of essays in journals and collections. His major works include The Rhythms of English Poetry, which challenged traditional approaches to poetic meter; Joyce Effects and How to Read Joyce, key texts for modernist studies; and J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading, which has become a foundational text in Coetzee scholarship. His book The Experience of Poetry traces the reception of poetry from Homer to Shakespeare, while Forms of Modernist Fiction offers an ambitious study of the modernist novel, earning recognition as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.
Attridge has held numerous prestigious fellowships, including those from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, and research centers in the US, Europe, and South Africa. He has also held visiting professorships in universities across four continents. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Related Literature at the University of York and a Fellow of the British Academy.
His editorial work includes influential volumes such as The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce, Acts of Literature (featuring essays by Jacques Derrida), and The Cambridge History of South African Literature. His writing is known for its clarity, depth, and ability to bridge close reading with philosophical inquiry, establishing him as a key figure in the fields of poetics, modernism, and literary ethics.