In Talking Heads, Benjamin Lee situates himself at the convergence of multiple disciplines: philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, and literary theory. He offers a nuanced exploration of the central questions shared by these disciplines during the modern era—questions regarding the relations between language, subjectivity, community, and the external world. Scholars in each discipline approach these questions from significantly different angles; in seeking to identify and define the intersection of these angles, Lee argues for the development of a new sense of subjectivity, a construct that has repercussions of immense importance beyond the humanities and into the area of politics. Talking Heads synthesizes the views and works of a breathtaking range of the most influential modern theorists of the humanities and social sciences, including Austin, Searle, Derrida, Jakobson, Bakhtin, Wittgenstein, Peirce, Frege, Kripke, Donnellan, Putnam, Saussure, and Whorf. After illuminating these many strands of thought, Lee moves beyond disciplinary biases and re-embeds within the context of the public sphere the questions of subjectivity and language raised by these theorists. In his examination of how subjectivity relates not just to grammatical patterns but also to the specific social institutions in which these patterns develop and are sustained, Lee discusses such topics as the concept of public opinion and the emergence of Western nation-states.
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Situating itself at the convergence of multiple disciplines: philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, and literary theory, this book offers an exploration of the central questions shared by these disciplines during the modern era. It is an addition to investigations unfolding across a spectrum of the human and social sciences.
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"Talking Heads will make a major contribution to several lines of concern presently animating new thinking and research across a wide spectrum of the human and social sciences.—Michael Holquist, Yale University
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780822320067
Publisert
1997-12-10
Utgiver
Vendor
Duke University Press
Vekt
880 gr
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
392

Forfatter

Biographical note

Benjamin Lee is Professor of Anthropology at Rice University and co-director of the Center for Transcultural Studies in Chicago.