Philosophy and Literature 2011

2011

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Philosophy, Literature & Theory

New and Forthcoming

Titles from Stanford

University Press

The Sacrament of LanguageAn Archaeology of the OathGiorgio AgambenTranslated by Adam KotskoThis book is a continuation of Giorgio Agamben’s investiga-tion of political theory, which began with the highly influ-ential volume Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Having already traced the roots of the idea of sovereignty, sacredness, and economy, he now turns to a perhaps unlikely topic: the concept of the oath. This book is important not only for readers of Agamben or of continental philosophy more broadly, but for anyone inter-ested in questions relating to the relationships among reli-gion, law, and language.

Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics104 pp., 20109780804768986 Paper $16.95 $13.56 sale9780804768979 Cloth $45.00 $36.00 sale

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Philosophy

20% discount on all titles

Use promo code: s11Lit

TranscendenceOn Self-Determination and CosmopolitanismMitchell AboulafiaNotions of self-determina-tion are central to modern politics, yet the relation-ship between the self-de-termination of individuals and peoples has not been adequately addressed, nor adequately allied to

cosmopolitanism. Transcendence seeks to rectify this by offering an original theory of self and society. It highlights overlooked affinities between existentialism and pragmatism and compares figures central to these traditions. The book’s guiding thread is a unique model of the social development of the self that is indebted to the pragmatist George Herbert Mead. Drawing on the work of thinkers from both sides of the Atlantic—Hegel, William James, Dewey, Du Bois, Sartre, Marcuse, Bourdieu, Rorty, Neil Gross, and Jean-Baker Miller—and according supporting roles to Adam Smith, Hab-ermas, Herder, Charles Taylor, and Simone de Beauvoir, Aboulafia combines European and American traditions of self-determination and cosmopolitanism in a new and persuasive way.

“Mitchell Aboulafia offers a gracefully presented and intellectually satisfying conception of transcendence for an age when multiculturalism is an undeniable social fact. The result is a highly persuasive and sophis-ticated conception of human freedom that acknowl-edges the social and biological forces associated with Darwin without succumbing to the old dualism of freedom and determinism.”

—Cynthia Willett, Emory University

216 pp., 20109780804770200 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804770194 Cloth $55.00 $44.00 sale

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Philosophy

NuditiesGiorgio AgambenTranslated by David Kishik and Stefan PedatellaEncompassing a wide range of subjects, the ten masterful essays gathered here may at first appear unrelated to one another. In truth, Giorgio Agamben’s latest book is a mosaic of his most pressing concerns. Take a step backward after reading it from cover to cover, and a world of secret affinities between the chapters slowly comes into focus. Take another step back, and it becomes another indispensable piece of the finely nuanced phi-losophy that Agamben has been patiently constructing over four decades of sustained research.

Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics144 pp., 10 illustrations, 20109780804769501 Paper $16.95 $13.56 sale9780804769495 Cloth $45.00 $36.00 sale

A 2009 French Voices Selection

The Sparks of Randomness, Volume 1Spermatic KnowledgeHenri AtlanTranslated by Lenn J. SchrammThe Sparks of Randomness, Henri Atlan’s magnum opus, develops his whole philoso-phy with a highly impressive display of knowledge, wis-

dom, depth, rigor, and intellectual and moral vigor. Atlan founds an ethics adapted to the new power over life that modern scientific knowledge has given us. He holds that the results of science cannot ground any ethical or politi-cal truth whatsoever, while human creative activity and the conquest of knowledge are a double-edged sword.

“Henri Atlan has undoubtedly become a great scholar and important international figure in the academic community. His approach to texts is original and stimulating, his ideas both lucid and insightful. He has written many volumes on a variety of subjects, but this one has special meaning due to the convulsions so-ciety has been undergoing in recent years. The book is steeped in psychology and religion, biology and sociology, mysticism and ethos. Drawing from Talmu-dic sources but also from secular ones, it is sure to find appeal in many circles.”

—Elie Wiesel

Cultural Memory in the Present352 pp., 20109780804760270 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale9780804773577 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 saleTAble of

ConTenTs

Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9literature and Theory . . . . . . . 10-19

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Cover photograph by: Greta CuneAlan Counihan, untitled, bluestone, Woodstock School of Art Sculpture Park, Woodstock, NY

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Philosophy

Little Did I KnowExcerpts from MemoryStanley Cavell

“stanley Cavell’s Little Did I Know belongs alongside other great works of self-examination that are also indispensable explora-tions of the human condition, books such as the Essais of Montaigne and the journals of Cavell’s own beloved emerson. Cavell’s work has always been about the complexity of human life, and his own experience has always been present in his philosophy. His memoir deep-ens our understanding of both his life and his philosophy. It is a work of great particularity—Cavell’s own life from Depres-sion-era Atlanta to late twenti-eth-century Harvard—but also a work of profound universality, a thoughtful man’s reflections on everything from fitting into his clothes and fitting into high school to finding friends, peers, love, personal calling, and social justice. This book is a treasure.”

—Paul Guyer, University of Pennsylvania

Cultural Memory in the Present584 pp., 20109780804770149 Cloth $34.95 $27.96 sale

Mourning SicknessHegel and the French RevolutionRebecca ComayMourning Sickness provides a new reading of Hegel in the light of contemporary theories of historical trauma. It explores the ways in which major his-torical events are experienced vicariously, and the fantasies we use to make sense of them. Co-may brings Hegel into relation with the most burning con-temporary discussions around catastrophe, witness, memory, and the role of culture in shap-ing political experience.

“Rebecca Comay has written a stunning and powerful book. by making Hegel’s account of the “Terror” of the french Revolution the pivot of her reading, Comay offers a Hegel who is more radically modern and intransigently difficult than anything either his supporters or critics have imagined.”

—J. M. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

Cultural Memory in the Present224 pp., 20109780804761277 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804761260 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

AVAILABLE IN MAY 2011

HabermasThe Discourse Theory of Law and DemocracyHugh Baxter

“A must read for all those inter-ested in an exposition of Jürgen Habermas’s fundamental contri-bution to legal scholarship.”

—David M. Rasmussen, Boston College

"A clear, well-judged, and cool assessment of Jürgen Habermas and his debates with niklas luh-mann, two giants of twentieth-century social theory."

—Tim Murphy, The London School of Economics

and Political Science

Jurists: Profiles in Legal Theory360 pp., 20119780804769129 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

new in paperback

Phenomenology of the Visual Arts (even the frame)Paul CrowtherThe book is a comprehensive phenomenological study of meanings that are unique to the major visual art forms.

264 pp., 26 illustrations, 20099780804776028 Paper $22.95 $18.36 sale9780804762144 Cloth $55.00 $44.00 sale

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Philosophy

Copy, Archive, SignatureA Conversation on PhotographyJacques DerridaEdited and with an Introduction by Gerhard Richter Translated by Jeff Fort

“behind Derrida’s remarks on photography stands a vast phil-osophical knowledge, as well as a keen interest in contem-porary media and technology. I can hardly imagine another discussion of photography that would display the same theo-retical and philosophical breath and incisiveness that Derrida and his partners bring to bear on the subject.”

—Samuel Weber, European Graduate School


An Atheism that Is Not Humanist Emerges in French ThoughtStefanos GeroulanosCultural Memory in the Present448 pp., 20109780804762991 Paper $27.95 $22.36 sale9780804762984 Cloth $75.00 $60.00 sale

The Messianic ReductionWalter Benjamin and the Shape of TimePeter FenvesA groundbreaking study of Walter Benjamin’s thought. Fenves places Benjamin’s early writings in the context of con-temporaneous philosophy, with particular attention to the work of Bergson, Cohen, Husserl, Frege, and Heidegger.

“fenves offers us not simply an original window on benjamin’s early works, but also takes up is-sues that are critical to his entire opus. This extraordinarily ambi-tious volume will be a keystone to the understanding of benja-min’s work and of his place in twentieth-century philosophy.”

—Carol Jacobs, Yale University


AVAILABLE IN FEBRUARY 2011

What Is Life?The Intellectual Pertinence of Erwin SchrödingerHans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Robert Pogue Harrison, Michael R. Hendrickson, and Robert B. LaughlinFour leading scientists and human-ists reveal the ongoing contributions of Schrödinger’s thought and unfold its controversial potential. They re-mind us that, in addition to being a great scientist, Schrödinger was also a great thinker whose intellectual provocations far exceed his histori-cal impact. Their insights will be valued by biologists, philosophers, physicists—and a wide range of the scientifically curious alike.

“An imaginative and highly interdis-ciplinary invitation to rethink the work of erwin schrödinger, one of the most remarkable scientist-phi-losophers of the last two hundred years. each author brings a different perspective—two from the humani-ties, two from the sciences. And the whole turns out to be even more than the sum of its parts, thanks to its well-defined focus on schröding-er's thought.”

—Peter Galison, Harvard University


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Philosophy

AVAILABLE IN MARCH 2011

The Present Alone is Our Happiness, Second EditionConversations with Jeannie Carlier and Arnold I. DavidsonPierre HadotTranslated by Marc Djaballah and Michael ChaseOne of the most influential histo-rians of ancient philosophy of the past half-century, Pierre Hadot was adept at using ancient philos-ophers to illuminate the relevance of their ideas to contemporary life. This new edition, which has been significantly revised and ex-panded to include two previously untranslated essays, is an ideal introduction to some of Hadot’s more scholarly work.

Cultural Memory in the Present248 pp., 20119780804775434 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale

CommunitasThe Origin and Destiny of CommunityRoberto EspositoTranslated by Timothy C. CampbellCultural Memory in the Present192 pp., 20099780804746472 Paper $22.95 $18.36 sale9780804746465 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

Between Race and ReasonViolence, Intellectual Responsibility, and the University to ComeSusan Searls GirouxInquiring into the future of the university, Susan Gir-oux finds a paradox at the heart of higher education in the post-civil rights era. Although we think of “post-

civil rights” as representing a colorblind or race-tran-scendent triumphalism in national political discourse, Giroux argues that our present is shaped by persistent

“raceless” racism at home and permanent civilizational war abroad. She sees the university as a primary battle-ground in this ongoing struggle. As the heir to Enlight-enment ideals of civic education, the university should be the institution for the production of an informed and reflective democratic citizenry responsible to and for the civic health of the polity, a privileged site committed to free and equal exchange in the interests of peace-ful and democratic coexistence. And yet, says Giroux, historically and currently the university has failed and continues to fail in this role.

“Race is changing in our midst, and it is crucial that we understand its shifting nature and the implications for the future of the Us as a racialized nation state. A response is in order, and Between Race and Reason provides it. We speak of legal citizenship, cultural citi-zenship, and now, with the advent of this book, we can add intellectual citizenship.”

—Zeus Leonardo, University of California, Berkeley


www.sup.org

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Philosophy

Rawls and HabermasReason, Pluralism, and the Claims of Political PhilosophyTodd Hedrick

“This book is a highly informed, scholarly and very readable discussion of the differences between the two leading political theorists of the last half-century—Rawls and Habermas. Hedrick offers a careful analysis of Habermas’s political philosophy and does a superb job of developing immanently some of the ten-sions and difficulties in Rawls’s evolving account of construc-tivism. The result is a lively engagement with the ideas of these two important theorists and one that is sure to invite a response, especially from those who are more sympa-thetic to Rawls’s political con-structivism than Habermas’s reconstructive project.”

—Kenneth Baynes, Syracuse University


The Price of TruthGift, Money, and PhilosophyMarcel Hénaff Translated by Jean-Louis Morhange with the collaboration of Anne-Marie Feenberg-DibonCan exchange bring us together? Are there any physical or intangible goods that escape the

logic of the marketplace? Is there a relationship be-tween truth—the very purpose of philosophy—and money? Does truth have a price?

“Among the numerous studies of the ‘gift’—ceremo-nial gift-giving as distinct from exchange and from charity—Marcel Hénaff’s wide-ranging book is the best. Its empirical richness is disciplined by a rigorous conceptual framework. This is one of the most impor-tant philosophical works of our time, full of inspiring ideas for anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, and historians.”

—Hans Joas, Max Weber Center, University of Erfurt, Germany, and Committee on

Social Thought, University of Chicago

“A magisterial work.”—Claude Lévi-Strauss, Esprit Magazine (2004)

“Priceless truths about the price of truth.”—Michel Serres, of the Académie Française


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Philosophy

AVAILABLE IN APRIL 2011

The Problem with GraceReconfiguring Political TheologyVincent W. LloydThis book develops a post-secular, post-sectarian political theology, taking that burgeon-ing field in a new direction. With his bold suggestion that political philosophy must be-gin with political theology, Vin-cent Lloyd investigates a series of religious concepts such as love, faith, liturgy, and revela-tion and explores their political relevance by extracting them from their Christian theologi-cal context while refusing to re-duce them to secular terms. He assembles an unusual canon of thinkers “too Jewish to be Christian and too Christian to be Jewish”—Simone Weil, James Baldwin, Franz Kafka, and Gillian Rose—to aid him in his explorations.

“This important book will deepen post-modern/post-liberal discussions of religion and public life, public theology, and political theology.”

—Victor Anderson, Vanderbilt University


Heidegger Among the SculptorsBody, Space, and the Art of DwellingAndrew J. MitchellA provocative illustrated ex-amination of Heidegger’s sculp-tural writings that shows how they rethink the relationship between bodies and space and the place of art in our lives.

“This is a truly exceptional book: beautifully written, carefully ar-gued, and deploying a detailed knowledge of Heidegger’s oeuvre with a light touch. It is the first to be written on Heide-gger and art that concentrates on sculpture and looks at the specific sculptural works dis-cussed by Heidegger. Mitchell’s achievement in this area is truly significant. not only will this book appeal to Heidegger scholars, it will be of genuine interest to anyone who studies or is moved by sculpture.”

—Andrew Benjamin, Monash University


On Historicizing EpistemologyAn EssayHans-Jörg RheinbergerTranslated by David Fernbach

“An elegantly written, lucid intro-duction to the problems that are at stake in the history of science. This book will have an immense impact on the all-too-solidified ideologies of many scientists.”

—Rainer Nägele, Yale University


Technics and Time, 3Cinematic Time and the Question of MalaiseBernard StieglerTranslated by Stephen BarkerTechnics and Time, 3 furthers Stiegler's critique of technics, working (back) through Kant in order to examine the nature of "cinematic time" relative to phenomenology and hyper-technology.


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Philosophy

The Ego and the FleshAn Introduction to EgoanalysisJacob RogozinskiTranslated by Robert Vallier

“Perhaps the major presumption of 20th-century thought was that the subject, particularly the Cartesian ego, had to be subject-ed to ‘egicide.’ It is precisely this ego that Rogozinski sets out to defend in this fascinating book. What is suggestively introduced here is the concept of egoanaly-sis that is not based on some disembodied self, but on what Rogozinski calls ‘the ego-flesh.’”

—Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research


AVAILABLE IN MAY 2011

Kantian Ethics and EconomicsAutonomy, Dignity, and CharacterMark D. White286 pp., 20119780804768948 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

MalfeasanceAppropriation Through Pollution?Michel Serres Translated by Anne-Marie Feenberg-DibonIn this highly original and provocative book, Michel Serres reflects on the rela-tion between nature and culture and analyzes the origins of the world’s con-temporary environmental

problems. He does so through the surprising proposi-tion that our cleanliness is our dirt. While all living beings pollute to lay claim to their habitat, humans have multiplied pollution’s effects catastrophically since the Industrial Revolution through the economic system’s mode of appropriation and its emphasis on mindless growth. He warns that while we can measure what he calls “hard pollution”—the poisoning of the Earth—we ignore at our peril the disastrous impact of the “soft pollution” created by sound and images on our psyches. Sounding the alarm that the planet is heading for disas-ter, Serres proposes that humanity should stop trying to

“own” the world and become “renters.” Building on his earlier work, especially that on hominization, he urges us to establish a “natural contract” with nature.

“Michel serres is widely considered one of the most important french thinkers of the postwar era. He believes in the age-old, overreaching ambition of philosophy: to synthesize the totality of human knowledge. Malfeasance reads like a manifesto of his philosophy of synthesis.”

—Robert Harrison, Stanford University

“In the face of pollution’s calamities, serres calls for responsible action, a new social contract, a peaceful compact with the world. Reversing Rousseau’s nega-tive command—’This is mine’—he proffers, ‘This is enough for me.’”

—Pierre Saint-Amand, Brown University


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Literature and Theory

Care Crosses the RiverHans BlumenbergTranslated by Paul FlemingIn this accessible collection of short meditations on various topics, Blumenberg works as a detective of ideas scouring the periphery of intellectual and philosophical history for clues—metaphors, gestures, anecdotes—essential to grasp-ing human finitude.


The Metamor-phoses of Tintin or Tintin for AdultsJean-Marie ApostolidèsTranslated by Jocelyn Hoy

“This volume's strengths: its groundbreaking critical ap-proach, careful scrutiny of characters and plots, and clear, concise presentation (the last attributable to Hoy's transla-tion).... Recommended.”

—J. A. Lent, CHOICE

312 pp., 2 tables, 15 figures, 20099780804760317 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale9780804760300 Cloth $75.00 $60.00 sale

The MeridianFinal Version—Drafts—MaterialsPaul CelanEdited by Bernhard Böschenstein and Heino Schmull Translated by Pierre JorisOriginally presented as a speech to the German Academy for Language and Poetry on the occa-sion of Celan’s acceptance

of the Georg Büchner Prize for literature, The Merid-ian is one of, if not the most important poetological statement of the second half of the twentieth century. Much more than a personal statement or occasional piece, it is a meditation on the state of poetry and art in general and a rigorous attempt to account for what poetry is, can, and must be after the Holocaust. This definitive historico-critical edition, available for the first time in English, presents not only the first drafts, but also a vast array of notes and preparatory work and a brief essay on Osip Mandelstam, all of which work to expand the field of reference of Celan’s mani-festo and reveal its true scope. Rich commentaries clarify Celan’s notes to authors as diverse as Leibniz, Scheler, Kafka, Hofmannsthal, Husserl, Pascal, Valéry, Heidegger, and others.

“Celan’s celebration of the uncanny and transitory ap-pears along with its several early versions and with a range of source materials that make up a poetic col-lage, an implicit epic, in their own right. Those who know how to read it will find sustenance here for years to come.”

—Jerome Rothenberg

“It may seem quixotic to undertake a translation of all the notes and drafts leading up to The Meridian. but what we have here is more: it is a record of Celan's thinking. In other words, a treasure.”

—Rosmarie Waldrop

Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics304 pp., 14 illustrations, 20119780804739528 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale9780804739511 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

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On Ceasing to Be HumanGerald L. Bruns

“A must read in terms of recent discussions relating to the man/animal distinction. This book does a brilliant job of bringing together strands of intellectual history—Deleuze, nancy, Derrida, Agamben, bataille, blanchot, and levinas—whose interconnec-tions enable us to read french theory in an entirely new way even as they inform questions about the end of the human.”

—Herman Rapaport, Wake Forest University


The Culture of DiagramJohn Bender and Michael Marrinan

“The Culture of Diagram is sumptu-ously produced and printed.”

—Jonathan Kramnick, Studies in English Literature

296 pp., 48 illustrations (8 color), 20109780804745055 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804745048 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

Five PlaysAnton ChekhovTranslated by Marina Brodskaya with an Introduction by Tobias Wolff Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904) overturned the dramatic conventions of his day and laid the ground-work for contemporary approaches to directing and acting. Now, for the first

time, the full lyricism, humor, and pathos of his greatest plays are available to an English-speaking audience. This much-needed volume renders Chekhov in lan-guage that will move readers and theater audiences alike, making accessible his wordplay, unstated implications, and innovations. His characters’ vulnerabilities, needs, and neuroses—their humanity—emerge through their genuine, self-absorbed conversations. The plays come to life as never before and will surprise readers with their vivacity, originality, and relevance.

“Chekhov’s desperate, comedic greatness comes through in these versions as never before.”

—Caryl Emerson, Princeton University

“In these superlative translations, Marina brodskaya succeeds in letting Chekhov speak for himself. Her sensitivity to Chekhov’s concise and delicate lan-guage allows the beauty of his writing to shine through in a way which is wonderfully redolent of the original Russian.”

—Rosamund Bartlett, author of Chekhov: Scenes From a Life, translator of About Love and Other Stories, and

Founding Director of the Anton Chekhov Foundation

“With Chekhov, there are infinite possibilities in every thought, every interaction. All an actor asks for in a translation is that these possibilities be left open as they are so beautifully here.”

—Peter Sarsgaard, actor


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AVAILABLE IN FEBRUARY 2011

The Souls of Mixed FolkRace, Politics, and Aesthetics in the New MillenniumMichele ElamExamines representations of mixed race in literature and the arts that redefine new mil-lennial aesthetics and politics. Focusing on black-white mixes, Elam analyzes expressive works as artistic rejoinders to the perception that post-Civil Rights politics are bereft and post-Black art is apolitical.

“The Souls of Mixed Folks brings into sharp and dynamic focus the crucial and complex re-workings of racial identity in the post civil rights era. elam's deep historical insight coupled with her spot-on analysis of the conversation on mixed race in contemporary culture and politics will have a powerful impact on how we remember this pivotal moment. This book is a must have.”

— Tricia Rose, Brown University


ParagesJacques DerridaEdited by John P. Leavey Translated by Tom Conley, James Hulbert, John P. Leavey, and Avital Ronell This volume brings together four of Jacques Derrida’s essays on Maurice Blanchot’s fictions:

“Pace Not(s),” “Living on,” “Title To Be Specified,” and “The Law of Genre.”

Cultural Memory in the Present280 pp., 2 images, 20119780804735827 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale9780804735810 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

new in paperbackNamed a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2009

Romanticism and the Rise of EnglishAndrew Elfenbein

“elfenbein fleshes out general-izations with persuasive close readings that have something genuine to say about works (by Austen, scott, Wordsworth, Keats, byron, shelley) one thought one knew well.”

—CHOICE

288 pp., 20099780804773621 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale

Glory and AgonyIsaac’s Sacrifice and National NarrativeYael S. Feldman

“An excellent intellectual study that probes into the heart of contemporary Israeli identity while situating and arguing its construction in two mutually inclusive contexts: Jewish tradi-tion and Western thought and philosophy. Clearly an academic work of the highest standards, this important book presents an outstandingly well thought out argument for reconsidering the violent nature of our conduct: personally, collectively, nationally, and globally-universally.”

—Hannah Naveh, Tel Aviv University

Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture440 pp., 6 illustrations, 20109780804759021 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

new in paperback

The Gothic TextMarshall Brown

“...conveyed with such grace of style and such a range of refer-ence here that every student of the Gothic and the Romantic and their relationship ought to take account of it from now on.”

—European Romantic Review

312 pp., 20059780804739139 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale

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Theaters of JusticeJudging, Staging, and Working Through in Arendt, Brecht, and DelboYasco HorsmanThrough an analysis of philo-sophical and literary texts by Hannah Arendt, Bertolt Brecht, and Charlotte Delbo, this book raises the question: how does the theatrical structure of a criminal trial both facilitate and limit national processes of heal-ing and learning from the past?

“An important and highly read-able in-depth study of post-war legal and literary events that continue to exert their influence on the contemporary under-standing of justice and historical truth. Horsman is concerned with those aspects of reality that are negotiated and expressed in a trial but cannot be dealt with adequately within the categories of the law; he shows that literature commemorates and conveys dimensions of the past that do not fit easily into the idiom, structure, or purpose of legal discourse.”

—Ulrich Baer, New York University


Sound and SightPoetry and Courtier Culture in theYongming Era (483–493)Meow Hui GohThis is the first book to examine Chinese poetry and courtier culture using the concept of shengse—sound and sight—which connotes “sensual plea-sure.” Under the moral and political imperative to avoid or even eliminate representations of sense perception, premodern Chinese commentators treated overt displays of artistry with great suspicion, and their influ-ence is still alive in modern and contemporary constructions of literary and cultural history.

“As this book demonstrates, ‘sound’ is not just a physical phenomenon, but a mode of perception. Perception in all its modes was a matter of intense interest for the Yongming poets, an area in which their receptivity to buddhist teaching met their attention to verbal craft; and it is through her attention to the modes of perception made active in the poetry that Meow Hui Goh links literary style with intellectual history.”

—Haun Saussy, Yale University

208 pp., 20109780804768597 Cloth $50.00 $40.00 sale

Tokyo in TransitJapanese Culture on the Rails and RoadAlisa Freedman

“A significant contribution to Japanese literary studies, Tokyo in Transit offers such a readable, compelling cultural history that anyone who has ever taken a train or waited at a bus stop will find a story here that strikes a chord.”

—Jan Bardsley, University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill

352 pp., 16 figures, 3 illustrations, 2 maps, 20109780804771450 Paper $22.95 $18.36 sale9780804771443 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

Imagining HarmonyPoetry, Empathy, and Community in Mid-Tokugawa Confucianism and NativismPeter Flueckiger

“This work will undoubtedly and immediately emerge as a fresh starting point for studies of both literary and sociopolitical thought in Tokugawa Japan. The scholar-ship is careful, grounded in sound theory, and bold in its revision of long-held interpretations.”

—Lawrence E. Marceau, University of Auckland

304 pp., 20109780804761574 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

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Memos from the Besieged CityLifelines for Cultural SustainabilityDjelal KadirThis book argues for the institutional and cultural relevance of literary study through foundational figures, from the 1200s to today, who defied precari-ous circumstances to make significant contributions

to literacy and civilization in the face of infelicitous hu-man acts. Focusing on historically vital crossroads—Baghdad, Florence, Byzantium, Istanbul, Rome, Paris, New York, Mexico City, Jerusalem, Beijing, Stockholm, Warsaw—Kadir looks at how unconventional and nonconformist writings define literacy, culture, and intellectual commitment.

“exceptionally original in conception, innovative in argumentation, and eloquent in style, Memos from the Besieged City takes on a moral urgency in addressing itself to an age of homeland insecurity and projections of power abroad, revealing an all too close linkage between American comparatism and a hegemonic hubris that academics may share even as they seek to oppose it.”

—David Damrosch, Harvard University

“This important and original book will prove controver-sial and difficult to ignore.”

—Wlad Godzich, University of California, Santa Cruz


East West MimesisAuerbach in TurkeyKader Konuk

“Konuk’s groundbreaking study significantly enhances our under-standing of the shared intellectual, literary, and political history that links twentieth-century Turkey to major developments in europe. Her work poses a significant chal-lenge to persistent beliefs about the ‘backwardness’ and ‘oriental-ness’ of modern Turkey.”

—Nina Berman, Ohio State University

320 pp., 22 illustrations, 20109780804769747 Cloth $55.00 $44.00 sale

From Kabbalah to Class StruggleExpressionism, Marxism, and Yiddish Literature in the Life and Work of Meir WienerMikhail Krutikov

“This fascinating book offers the first complete evaluation of the legacy of Meir Wiener, one of the most prominent Jewish intellec-tuals and writers of the twentieth century.”

—Dan Miron, Columbia University


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Actions and Objects from Hobbes to Richardson Jonathan KramnickHow do minds cause events in the world? How does wanting to write a letter cause a person’s hands to move across the page, or believing something to be true cause a person to make a promise? In Actions and

Objects, Jonathan Kramnick examines the literature and philosophy of action during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when philosophers and novelists, poets and scientists were all concerned with the place of the mind in the world.

“As a philosopher and cognitive scientist, I read Jona-than Kramnick’s book Actions and Objects from Hobbes to Richardson with mounting excitement. He makes a compelling case that Rochester’s late-seventeenth-century erotic poetry—on such topics as unwelcome episodes of impotence or random sexual encounters in london’s public parks—can and should be read as making innovative contributions to then flourishing de-bates about the nature of mind, the person and agency. What’s more, Kramnick shows that these earlier debates continue to shape our engagement today with these same topics. If Kramnick is right, then contemporary philosophy of mind needs to take a new look at these old literatures. but there is a more far-reaching upshot: Kramnick describes a world where there were no sharp lines to be drawn between the work of theory and the work of the literary artist. Perhaps this too ought to serve as a model for us today? Maybe it is time for us to bridge the gap that separates the concerns and meth-ods of science and those of literature in contemporary society. Kramnick’s book is more than intellectual his-tory. It actively engages with these important issues.”

—Alva Noe, University of California, Berkeley


The Jewish Persona in the European ImaginationA Case of Russian LiteratureLeonid LivakThis book argues that the repre-sentation of Jews in European literature has little to do with actual, human Jews, but rather is derived from the concep-tion of Jews as Christianity’s paradigmatic Other, eternally reenacting their morally am-biguous New Testament role as the Christ-bearing and -killing chosen people of God.

“Contributes a new understand-ing both of familiar Russian lit-erary texts and less familiar east slavic religious and folkloric texts. livak’s theory is power-fully explanatory and will excite controversy and debate.”

—Gabriella Safran, Stanford University


16


new in paperbackWinner of the 2010 Phi Beta Kappa Gauss Book Award

Telling ImagesChaucer and the Imagery of Narrative IIV.A. Kolve408 pp., 160 illustrations, 20099780804776585 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale

new in paperback

Literary HistoricityLiterature and Historical Experience in Eighteenth-Century BritainRuth Mack240 pp., 20099780804773676 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale

new in paperback

Postsocialist ModernityChinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market AgeJason McGrath320 pp., 1 table, 11 illustrations, 20089780804773638 Paper $24.95 $19.96 sale

Adventures in the French TradeFragments Toward a LifeJeffrey MehlmanThis memoir is less a chronicle of the life of a leading scholar and critic of matters French than a series of differently angled fragments, each with its attendant surprise, in what

one commentator has called Jeffrey Mehlman’s amour vache—his injured and occasionally injurious love—for France and the French. The reader will encounter mas-ters of the art of reading in these pages, the exhilaration elicited by their achievements, and the unexpected (and occasionally unsettling) resonances those achievements have had in the author’s life. With all its idiosyncrasies, Adventures in the French Trade depicts an intellectual generation in ways that will attract not only people who recall the heady days of the rise and reign of French theory but also those who do not. This provocative book should be of interest to students of intellectual history, literary criticism, Jewish studies, the history of Ameri-can academia, and the genre of the memoir itself.

“This wondrous memoir draws the reader into a unique career and ‘trade’ that have been points of reference on the horizon of french letters since the middle 1960s. It is sensuous, engaging, of great sweep, and in its obser-vations both cutting and entertaining. no one of his generation bears the same signature as Jeffrey Mehl-man; Adventures in the French Trade tells us why.”

—Tom Conley, Harvard University

Cultural Memory in the Present200 pp., 2 figures, 20109780804769624 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804769617 Cloth $50.00 $40.00 sale

17


Dialectic and DialogueDmitri NikulinThis book considers the emer-gence of dialectic out of the spirit of dialogue and, begin-ning with the ancient Greeks and moving through modern philosophy, traces a historical and systematic relation be-tween the two.

“nikulin’s newest book on dia-logue and dialectics displays a beautiful combination of great scholarship, fine storytelling, and innovative ideas.”

—Ágnes Heller, New School for Social Research

“Dialectic and Dialogue is a very important work, poten-tially a classic. It is stimulating throughout, as well as original in conception and execution—the first study to bring together these two signal concepts.”

—Mark Roche, University of Notre Dame


Our ConradConstituting American ModernityPeter Lancelot MalliosOur Conrad is a literary and cultural history, political in em-phasis, of the modern Ameri-can invention of Joseph Con-rad as a “master” literary figure as well as a call to transnation-alize the field of American liter-ary and cultural studies.

“Mallios weaves his tale master-fully and convinces me that Conrad-in-America was much more significant than I had realized—that the reception of Conrad in America says as much about America as it does about Conrad. Our Conrad will be embraced by scholars in english and American literature and American history, as well as readers outside academia who want to understand the connection of America with the rest of the world during the early twentieth century.”

—Fred Hobson, University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill


Literary PassportsThe Making of Modernist Hebrew Fiction in EuropeShachar M. PinskerLiterary Passports is the first book to explore modernist He-brew fiction in Europe in the early decades of the twentieth century. It deals with modern-ist Hebrew fiction as an urban phenomenon, explores the ways in which the genre dealt with issues of sexuality and gender, and examines its depic-tions the complex relations between tradition, modernity, and religion.

“Literary Passports is a break-through in the understanding of the literary modernism that flourished in Hebrew on european soil during the early decades of the twentieth century. Its vivid investiga-tion of the cafe world of the Hebrew writers locates their work in concrete cultural space, and the discussion of sexual themes in Hebrew modernism shows how deeply engaged it was in the prevalent european discourse of the era.”

—Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley


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AVAILABLE IN JUNE 2011

Mongrels or MarvelsThe Levantine Writings of Jacqueline Shohet KahanoffEdited by Deborah A. Starr and Sasson SomekhThis collection of essays and fiction offers critical insights into Egypt’s cosmopolitan past, Jewish-Levantine identities, and the possibilities for cul-tural integration within Israel and beyond.

“Kahanoff's extraordinarily important writings have held a certain aura or mystery for many decades and have been unavailable in their original english language form. They are of particular interest; in part because she is a woman, and Jewish, but most importantly because her ideas, sometimes anachronistic, idiosyncratic, and even contradictory, were clearly ahead of her time. Her work has enduring value, shed-ding light on an important historical period from a unique and complex perspective.”

—Ammiel Alcalay, Queens College, City University

of New York

Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture280 pp., 20119780804769532 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

The Rhetoric of Error from Locke to KleistZachary SngThe Rhetoric of Error considers the important role of error in eighteenth-century accounts of language, subjectivity, and epis-temology in authors such as Locke, Smith, Coleridge, Kant, Goethe, and Kleist.

“The Rhetoric of Error from Locke to Kleist is highly ambitious and shows a remarkable erudition in a broad spectrum of fields: philosophy, literature, and above all literary theory. This is theoretical thinking and literary criticism at its best.”

—Carol Jacobs, Yale University

“This elegant, lucid book ad-dresses itself to one of the most imposingly significant topics imaginable. [It] not only contributes richly to our under-standing of classic eighteenth-century literary and philosophi-cal texts, but offers the rare spectacle of a work fearlessly committed to the task of think-ing about reading.”

—Marc Redfield, Claremont Graduate University

216 pp., 20109780804770170 Cloth $50.00 $40.00 sale

Police AestheticsLiterature, Film, and the Secret Police in Soviet TimesCristina VatulescuTaking advantage of the partial opening of secret police ar-chives in Russia and Romania, Police Aesthetics explores the intersections between culture and policing in Soviet times.

“This is a very important, groundbreaking book, one of the most original and il-luminating works I have seen in recent years in comparative slavic studies. Police Aesthetics will unquestionably position Cristina Vatulescu as one of the foremost scholars of so-viet culture.”

—Catharine Nepomnyashchy, Columbia University


Binding ViolenceLiterary Visions of Political OriginsMoira Fradinger352 pp., 20109780804763301 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

Between now and June 30, 2011, receive a 20% discount (sale price) on all cloth and paperback titles listed in this catalog. Use the following Promotional Discount Code: S11LIT.

Please order by phone or online. Call 800-621-2736, or visit www.sup.org. online:http://www.sup.org telephone:800-621-2736Phone orders are accepted

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or charged on VISA, MasterCard, Discover Card, or American

Express (libraries excepted). Books not yet published or

temporarily out of stock will be charged to your credit card

when the book is available and is in the process of being

shipped. Stanford University Press books are distributed by

the University of Chicago Press Distribution Center. Ship-

ping & Handling $5.00; outside the United States $8.50;

add $1.00/$8.50 for each additional book.

ord

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stanford University Press will be glad to send you an ex-amination copy of any book you wish to consider for course use. Please mail or fax your request on your depart-ment letterhead specifying the title of your course, your expected enrollment, the semester or quarter in which the course will be offered, the course level (under-graduate or graduate), and any textbooks now currently being used for this course.

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19


new in paperbackWinner of the 2010 SAMLA Studies Book Award

Marriage, Writing, and RomanticismWordsworth and Austen After WarEric C. Walker

"erudite, beautifully written, and the result of a career-long investment in a variety of issues whose uncanny connected-ness is perhaps paramount among the study's many virtues. It is as close to the para-digm of the scholarly book as a study is likely to get."

—William Galperin, Rutgers University

304 pp., 4 figures, 1 map, 20099780804773652 Paper $23.95 $19.16 sale

Flesh of My FleshKaja Silverman304 pp., 80 illustrations, 20099780804762083 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804762076 Cloth $60.00 $48.00 sale

Our Bodies, Ourselves and the Work of WritingSusan Wells280 pp., 17 illustrations, 20109780804763097 Paper $21.95 $17.56 sale9780804763080 Cloth $65.00 $52.00 sale

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Documents

Philosophy and Literature 2011