The article discusses the haptic strain in critical and theoretical-critical thought. Relying on the work of Walter Benjamin and Jean-Luc Nancy, and responding to scholars like Valentine Cunningham who are hostile to the theoretical developments in literary criticism in the past decades, the article shows that, far from being marginal to theories of meaning, touch has largely determined them. This is particularly the case of theories that foreground materiality and the body. In fact, I argue that realization that interpretive acts are propelled by the mutual contact of thought and the body pervades contemporary critical thinking. The article functions as the introduction to the volume The Hand of The Interpreter, and is divided into 4 main sections: The Rise of the Haptic, After Theory, The Enigma of the Neighbour, with only the last section, "The Essays in This Collection," devoted to introducing the specific contributions to the volume.

Introduction: The Sense of an Equality of Things

G. F. Mitrano
2009-01-01

Abstract

The article discusses the haptic strain in critical and theoretical-critical thought. Relying on the work of Walter Benjamin and Jean-Luc Nancy, and responding to scholars like Valentine Cunningham who are hostile to the theoretical developments in literary criticism in the past decades, the article shows that, far from being marginal to theories of meaning, touch has largely determined them. This is particularly the case of theories that foreground materiality and the body. In fact, I argue that realization that interpretive acts are propelled by the mutual contact of thought and the body pervades contemporary critical thinking. The article functions as the introduction to the volume The Hand of The Interpreter, and is divided into 4 main sections: The Rise of the Haptic, After Theory, The Enigma of the Neighbour, with only the last section, "The Essays in This Collection," devoted to introducing the specific contributions to the volume.
2009
The Hand of the Interpreter: Essays on Meaning after Theory
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Introduction. The Sense of An Equality of Things.pdf

non disponibili

Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Accesso chiuso-personale
Dimensione 1.4 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.4 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in ARCA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3720219
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact