1st Edition

An Analysis of Michel Foucault's What is an Author?

By Tim Smith-Laing Copyright 2018
    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    112 Pages
    by Macat Library

    Michel Foucault’s 1969 essay “What is an Author?” sidesteps the stormy arguments surrounding “intentional fallacy” and the “death of the author,” offering an entirely different way of looking at texts. Foucault points out that all texts are written but not all are discussed as having “authors”. So what is special about “authored” texts? And what makes an “author” different to other kinds of text-producers? From its deceptively simple titular question, Foucault’s essay offers a complex argument for viewing authors and their texts as objects. A challenging, thought-provoking piece, it is one of the most influential literary essays of the twentieth century.

    Ways in to the Text 

    Who was Michel Foucault? 

    What does What Is An Author? Say? 

    Why does What Is An Author? Matter?  

    Section 1: Influences  

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 

    Module 2: Academic Context 

    Module 3: The Problem 

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution 

    Section 2: Ideas 

    Module 5: Main Ideas 

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement 

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work 

    Section 3: Impact 

    Module 9: The First Responses  

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate 

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 

    Module 12: Where Next?  

    Glossary of Terms  

    People Mentioned in the Text 

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Dr Tim Smith-Laing took his DPhil in English literature at Merton College, Oxford, and has held positions at Jesus College, Oxford, and Sciences Po in Paris.