The Origin Of "Post-Theory" And Its Three Fields Of Inquiry

This thesis explores the origin of npost-theory" and its main achievements.Chapter one introduces the topic and the significance and value of it,and also defines two key concepts that are "theory" and "post-theory".Chapter two firstly teases out the rise of "theory",main schools of "theory"and its impact on literary study."Theory" arises from study of semiotics developed by Saussure,which is the product of linguistic turn.It aims to explore the operative mechanism of meaning.Based on the position of linguistic turn,"theory" quickly expands from literary field to the whole humanities,and forms various schools like linguistic poetics,discoursive politics,linguistic anthropology,linguistic psychoanalysis,linguistic Marxism and deconstruction."Theory" has changed the method and paradigm of traditional literary study and made literary theory from pure text study to broader cultural research.Then examines how "theory" enters the "post-theory" stage."The end of theory" which is beginning from the 1980s provides an opportunity of the rising of "post-theory".As a response and reflection to "theory","post-theory" holds three attitudes towards"theory":opposing and resisting "theory";supporting and defending "theory";improving and promoting "theory".Among these three attitudes,the last one has the most constructive and positive value for the development of "theory",thus it is the emphasis of this thesis.The last three chapters dedicate to clarifying the important progress and achievements of "post-theory" after it improves "theory".Chapter three shows how the "posthumanism" has expanded the scope of "theory" and opened up new topics after "theory".With the aim of criticizing anthropocentrism,"posthmanism" attempts to deconstruct the dualistic opposition of human/inhuman,which is deconstruction's continuation in the contemporary context.The relationships between human and machine,human and animal,human and nature are topics emerging from the perspective of posthumanism.As various non-human objects are entering the world of human,new terms are required to describe the decentralized disruptive world.Chapter four examines the latest developments of "post-theory" in the political field from three aspects:biopolitics,gender politics,and new left-wing politics.As the continuation of Foucault unfinished project,biopolitics has become a new interdisciplinary field and formed many research paths by combining biology,medicine,economics,and other disciplines.Queer theory is the most influential gender theory after feminism.Since absorbing the theoretical resources of Foucault,Derrida,and feminism,it has made issues of gender and identity further refined and complicated.The new left-wing politics represented by Ranciere.Badiou,and Zizek,is dissatisfied with the post-modern style's political position which dissolves the subject and how to rebuild the revolutionary political subject is their's concern.Chapter five discusses the turn to aesthetics and literature in "post-theory".After a period of silence,the concept of"aesthetics" reenters the center of the field of "theory".New aestheticism tries to balance the relationship between "aesthetics" and "politics" by combining aesthetic formal elements with cultural and political criticism.The literary turn of "theory"highlights the effect of the operation of language itself and production of meaning."Theory" contains literary character and literature also has the function of "theory".The tension between "theory" and literature is a new hotspot in the study of"post-theory" research.This thesis summarizes the main achievements of "post-theory" in the form of three concerning fields:"posthumanism","political landscape" and "the turn of aesthetics and literature".It also means that these topics are still inconclusive and can continue to be discussed and developed."Post-theory" not only inherits the heritage of"theory" but also deepens and expands itself in the reflection and criticism of"theory".