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An Analysis of Michel Foucault's What is an Author?

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Michel Foucault’s 1969 essay What is an Author? offers a profound re-examination of the concept of authorship. Rather than engaging with the traditional debates on intentional fallacy or the death of the author, Foucault explores why some texts are attributed to 'authors' and others are not. He argues that authors and their texts should be considered as objects within a broader cultural and social framework, challenging conventional literary criticism. This essay remains one of the most influential and thought-provoking works in twentieth-century literary theory.
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Format: Hardback
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Ideal for students and scholars of literary theory, philosophy, and cultural studies, as well as anyone interested in the role of authorship and text interpretation.

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Foucault's 1969 essay What is an Author? applies the same approach to the central figure of literary criticism: the author, asking, against the grain of our intuitions, whether an “author” is truly the real individual who writes a text, or something else.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Michel Foucault’s 1969 essay What is an Author? sidesteps the stormy arguments surrounding "intentional fallacy" and the "death of the author," offering an entirely different way of looking at texts. Foucault points out that all texts are written but not all are discussed as having "authors".

So what is special about "authored" texts? And what makes an “author” different to other kinds of text-producers? From its deceptively simple titular question, Foucault’s essay offers a complex argument for viewing authors and their texts as objects. A challenging, thought-provoking piece, it is one of the most influential literary essays of the twentieth century.

Series: The Macat Library

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    Michel Foucault’s 1969 essay What is an Author? sidesteps the stormy arguments surrounding "intentional fallacy" and the "death of the author," offering an entirely different way of looking at texts. Foucault points out that all texts are written but not all are discussed as having "authors". So what is special about "authored" texts? And what makes an “author” different to...
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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781912453535

Publisher: Macat International Limited

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 May 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Macat International Limited

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 370g

Pages: 112

About the Author

Dr Tim Smith-Laing took his DPhil in English literature at Merton College, Oxford, and has held positions at Jesus College, Oxford, and Sciences Po in Paris.

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