Indifferent Boundaries: Spatial Concepts of Human Subjectivity (Mappings: Society/Theory/Space) - Hardcover

Kirby, Kathleen M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0898629039 ISBN 13: 9780898629033

Publisher: Guilford Press, 1996

Synopsis

A provocative and illuminating work, Indifferent Boundaries explores the ways that concepts of subjectivity are vitally grounded in metaphors of and assumptions about space. Kathleen Kirby demonstrates how changes that have taken place in real and conceptual space from the Renaissance to the postmodern era have led to a critical rearticulation of the subject by feminist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theorists, among others. Tracing changing ideas about the self--from the stable form of the Enlightenment individual to the postmodern sujet en procès appraises both the liberatory possibilities and the everyday cultural implications of the contemporary "space of the subject." This tenacious and substantive investigation of the lexicon of space sheds much needed light in previously dark corners of the poststructuralist edifice, and is certain to appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary audience.

The volume opens with a discussion of the proliferation of spatial language in current theoretical discourse. Kirby highlights the reformative powers of representation, proposing that the recent emphasis on space results from the praxis-oriented attempt of theory to reconcile the realms of language and reality. Elegantly reasoned chapters cover topics including:
* Feminist theory and the politics of location
* Renaissance versus postmodern practices of mapping
* Freudian subjectivity and the twentieth century deterioration of space
* Poststructural philosophy and the reconfiguration of the subject
* The physical and psychic contours of gendered subjectivity

Throughout, Kirby critically evaluates the cultural implications of varying representations of subjectivity, skillfully navigating the increasingly permeable boundary between the individual self and the shared social and political landscape.

About this title

Synopsis

This is a critical examination into the interactions between human subjectivity and influences on personal space. The book begins with a discussion on the language of space and the use that such theorists as Sigmund Freud and Frederic Jameson have made of it. The author then argues that subjectivity is rooted by these spatial concepts and how changes have taken place, in real and conceptual terms, from the Renaissance to the postmodern era, these changes having had a critical impact on feminism, psychoanalytic and poststructuarlist theorists. Changes in concepts are traced from the Englightenment to postmodern times, appraising both literary possibilities and cultural implications. The book integrates both theoretical and practical (political) concerns, providing a representative case study. It moves from theoretical and historical to cultural and personal considerations, ranging across geographic, national, architectural, social, semiotic and psychic spaces. It also discusses the relevance of post-structural philosophy.

About the Author

Kathleen M. Kirby graduated from the Modern Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1992. She has taught English and Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Syracuse University, and the University of New Hampshire. Her articles on space, politics and subjectivity have been published in New Orleans Review, American Imago, and boundary 2. She currently lives, writes, and works in New Hampshire.

Edition details

• Publisher: Guilford Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0898629039
• ISBN 13: 9780898629033
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 169