1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456784403321

Autore

LaCapra Dominick <1939->

Titolo

History and reading : Tocqueville, Foucault, French studies / / Dominick LaCapra

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2000

©2000

ISBN

1-282-02881-2

9786612028816

1-4426-7578-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (244 p.)

Collana

Green College Thematic Lecture Series

Disciplina

944/.007/2

Soggetti

Literature and history

History - Methodology

Electronic books.

France Study and teaching

France Historiography

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. History, Reading, and Critical Theory -- 2. Rereading Tocqueville's Old Régime -- 3. Rereading Foucault's 'History of Madness' -- 4. Reconfiguring French Studies -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In this study Dominick LaCapra addresses the ongoing concern with the application of theory - namely that of literary studies and linguistics - to contemporary historical research and analysis. History and Reading is an attempt to address the concerns of those scholars who either resist theoretical discussions or disavow the use of interdisciplinary study.LaCapra begins with an extensive discussion of the problem of reading and interpretation as it relates to the understanding of history. The focus then moves to two classic texts that serve as case studies: Alexis de Tocqueville's "Old RTgime and the French Revolution" and Michel Foucault's "Folie et dTraison: Histoire de la folie + l'+ge classique" (partially translated into English as "Madness and



Civilization"). In the final chapter, LaCapra deals with the problem of rethinking and reconfiguring French studies, suggesting how this discipline could itself profit from the theoretical innovations for which it has been so important a conduit in the last few decades. LaCapra offers sensitive readings of Tocqueville and Foucault, authors who present vastly different narrative strategies and modes of analysis. Looking at these and other theorists whose work addresses the writing and understanding of history, he considers how their distinctive textual practices have transformed standard modes of interpretation and analysis.A distinguished and widely respected European historian, LaCapra offers a sophisticated consideration of how to combine textual analysis with traditional historical practices, and shows how this practice can be brought to bear on French studies and help to shape its future directions.