Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Contemporary Thought Revisiting the Horror with Lacoue-Labarthe

by Lawtoo, Nidesh

• ISBN13: 9781441124616
• ISBN10: 1441124616
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-11-15
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

With its innovative narrative structure and its controversial explorations of race, gender and empire, Joseph Conrad'sHeart of Darknessis a landmark of 20th century literature that continues to resonate to this day. This book brings together leading scholars to explore the full range of contemporary philosophical and critical responses to the text. Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Contemporary Thoughtincludes the first publication in English of philosopher Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's 2007 essay, "The Horror of the West", described by J. Hillis Miller as "a major essay on Conrad's novel, one of the best ever written". In the company of Lacoue-Labarthe, leading scholars explore new readings of Conrad's text from a full range of theoretical perspectives, including deconstructive, psychoanalytic, feminist and postcolonial approaches. Drawing on the very latest insights of contemporary thought, this is an essential study of one of the most important literary texts of the 20th century.

Table of Contents

Preface, Anne Luyat \ Introduction: An Emotion of Thought, Nidesh Lawtoo \ Prologue: Revisiting 'Heart of Darkness Revisited' (in the Company of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe), J. Hillis Miller \ Part I: Mythic Darkness \ 1. Heart of Darkness Revisited, J. Hillis Miller \ 2. Modernism, Myth and Heart of Darkness, Michael Bell \ 3. Between Degeneration and the Death Drive, Jonathan Dollimore \ Part II: The Affect of Ideology \ 4. Desire in Heart of Darkness, Stephen Ross \ 5. Positioning Conrad: Reading for Affect in Heart of Darkness, Beth Sharon Ash \ 6. The Voice of Darkness: Ideology vs. Textual Voice in Heart of Darkness, Claude Maisonnat \ Part III: Conrad avec Lacoue-Labarthe \ 7. "The Horror of the West"/ "L' horreur occidentale", Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe \ Part IV: Facing the Horror after Lacoue-Labarthe \ 8. TBC, Henry Staten \ 9. Ethics and the Economy of Power, Amar Acheraiou \ 10. Sounding the Hollow Heart of the West after Lacoue-Labarthe: X-Rays or the Technology of Death, Martine Hennard-Dutheil \ 11. The Horror of Mimesis: Enthusiasm in the Echo of Lacoue-Labarthe, Nidesh Lawtoo \ Part V: Philosopher-Poet \ Postface, Avital Ronell \ Bibliography \ Index.