Essentialism And Anti-essentialism In Theory Of Literature

Nowadays, reflecting essentialism in China contemporary theory of literature is raised concern widely, and one of the representative figures is Tao Dongfeng. To this discussing, one side agrees that essentialism is really a kind of bad thought for literary theory, While another side tend to show the original advantage of essence appeal. Although there are some contradictions between above, there is also a basic consensus that is defending whatever arbitrary theory in literary study. Whatever supporting the thought of essence appeal (this is mainly the persons who stick to autonomy of literary study), or whoever survey the anti-essentialism and postmodernism carefully. They all defend the hegemonism in the theory of literature. If there are many big contradictions between them, I think maybe some aspects below:The first one is how to think of the basic concepts, for instance, essence, essentialism and anti-essentialism. Because of different comprehension to these concepts, many papers discussing about these questions: is essence thought the essential for literary study? Is concluding the literary phenomenon a kind of essentialism of literary study? Are crisis in theory of literature and china contemporary literary theory textbooks essentialism knowledge production? And so on, to study these divergences leads us to concept investigation.The second question is from the first one, and to cause to reflect how to write the theory of literature and how to tell the knowledge of literary theory. These problems with the knowledge production of literary theory are very prominence in china contemporary theory development.And the third one, in recently china, with the background of cultural theory and literary theory coexisting, literary theory knowledge production shows multivariant and integrative creations. Around this, there is a difficult problem that how to balance grand narrative and individual narrative in the multicultural context, and then to find a new growing top point. Moreover, this problem is also the essential to reflect essentialism and anti-essentialism.In summary, to think of the question above and try to answer something about that become the main attentive point of my thesis. But my thesis is not a widely review on essentialism and anti-essentialism, but not a philosophical study. This thesis mainly refers to essentialism and anti-essentialism in philosophical context to do a way of literary theory study.The whole thesis consists of four chapters.ChapterⅠ: reflection context and anti-essentialism comes on the stage. This chapter is mainly how to review the anti-essentialism on the stage in reflection context of humanities and social sciences in late last century.ChapterⅡ: expanding the range of literary theory in angle of anti-essentialism. This chapter mainly discourses that anti-essentialism literary study brings some new thought continuing the reflection essentialism in last chapter. One is remarking the concept politics and show the publicity of literary theory. Another is breaking away the de-historization of aesthetic autonomy, and emphasizes the historical understanding generation of literary field.ChapterⅢ: essentialism and anti-essentialism: western context and Chinese problems. Firstly, this chapter sorts the generation of the concept essence (essential thought) and to analyse distinguish and succession of the two referring to the relation of modernism (modernity) and postmodernism (post-modernity). Secondly, reflecting the effection of anti-essentialism on literary theory from two dimensions. At last, back to Chinese context, to analyse how to understand the essentialism, anti-essentialism and constructivism from Tao Dongfeng. And this chapter wants to show that anti-essentialism is a kind of strategy of cultural study in this contradiction background between theory of literature and cultural theory.ChapterⅣ: essentialism·anti-essentialism·relationalism. I want to make a view in four aspects below: one is what does anti-essentialism want to withstand? Two is what is the essential crux in Chinese contemporary literary theory, essentialism or authoritarianism? Three is what is relationalism? Is it a good way for literary theory or just a kind of transform of essentialism? Four is what is the real revelation from anti-essentialism to literary theory? And the end, as a conclusion, this thesis also shows from aspects to recognize these problems: the first is strategy using. The second is transform generation. The third is deconstruction games. The fourth is reflecting here and now to think of the future.