Although literary theories describe a world of strategies--textual, discursive, interpretive, and political--what is missing is the strategist. Poststructuralists try to explain agency as the effect of large-scale systems or formations; as a result, intuitions about individual action and responsibility are expressed in terms of impersonal strategies. Mette Hjort's book responds to this situation by proposing an alternative account of strategic action, one that brings the strategist back into the picture. Hjort analyzes ...
Read More
Although literary theories describe a world of strategies--textual, discursive, interpretive, and political--what is missing is the strategist. Poststructuralists try to explain agency as the effect of large-scale systems or formations; as a result, intuitions about individual action and responsibility are expressed in terms of impersonal strategies. Mette Hjort's book responds to this situation by proposing an alternative account of strategic action, one that brings the strategist back into the picture. Hjort analyzes influential statements made by Derrida, Foucault, and others to show how proposed conceptions of strategy are contradictory, underdeveloped, and at odds with the actual use of the term. Why, then, has the term acquired such rhetorical force? Since "strategy" evokes conflict, Hjort suggests, its very use calls into question various pieties of idealism and humanism, and emphasizes a desired break between modernism and postmodernism. It follows that a theory of strategy must explore some of the psychological implications of conflict, and Hjort pursues these implications through traditions as diverse as game theory, discourse ethics, and the philosophy of war. Unstable frames, self deception, promiscuous pragmatism, and social emotion are some of the phenomena she explores as she develops her account of strategic action in the highly competitive domain of letters. In her reflection on strategy, Hjort draws on such literary examples as Troilus and Cressida , Tartuffe , the autobiographical writings of Holberg, and early modern French and English treatises on theater. For its well-informed and incisive arguments and literary historical case studies, this book will be invaluable to literary theorists and will appeal to readers interested in drama, philosophy and literature, aesthetics, and theories of agency and rationality.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $3.99, very good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $4.07, very good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $5.00, like new condition, Sold by Dan Pope Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from WEST Hartford, CT, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
As New in As New jacket. First printing. An unread tight copy of this attractive book. Analyzes influential statements made by Derrida, Foucault, and others to show how proposed conceptions of literary strategy are contradictory, underdeveloped, and at odds with the actual use of the term. Hardbound, 267 pages. Blurb by Charles Taylor. SALE/FERRY.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $9.50, very good condition, Sold by Prairie Archives rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Springfield, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $10.50, very good condition, Sold by Powell's Books Chicago rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chicago, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $10.95, like new condition, Sold by Daedalus Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $14.95, very good condition, Sold by Peninsula Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Traverse City, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 0674840526. "The values and limitations of modes of postmodern criticism..." A nice clean, tight and unmarked book. Dust jacket in similarly nice condition with no chips, tears, or markings.; 8vo 8"-9" tall; 267 pages.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $20.00, like new condition, Sold by Priceless Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Urbana, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1993.
Add this copy of The Strategy of Letters to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Priceless Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Urbana, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Harvard U. Press 1993 Cambridge, MA.