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Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and Posthumanist Theory

Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and Posthumanist Theory
By Cary Wolfe

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Product Description

In Animal Rites, Cary Wolfe examines contemporary notions of humanism and ethics by reconstructing a little known but crucial underground tradition of theorizing the animal from Wittgenstein, Cavell, and Lyotard to Lévinas, Derrida, Žižek, Maturana, and Varela. Through detailed readings of how discourses of race, sexuality, colonialism, and animality interact in twentieth-century American culture, Wolfe explores what it means, in theory and critical practice, to take seriously "the question of the animal."

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #551204 in Books
  • Published on: 2003-02-01
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 252 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap
In Animal Rites, Cary Wolfe examines contemporary notions of humanism and ethics by reconstructing a little known but crucial underground tradition of theorizing the animal from Wittgenstein, Cavell, and Lyotard to Lévinas, Derrida, Žižek, Maturana, and Varela. Through detailed readings of how discourses of race, sexuality, colonialism, and animality interact in twentieth-century American culture, Wolfe explores what it means, in theory and critical practice, to take seriously "the question of the animal."

About the Author
Cary Wolfe is a professor of English at the University at Albany, SUNY. He is the author, most recently, of Critical Environments: Postmodern Theory and the Pragmatics of the "Outside" and the editor of Zoontologies: The Question of the Animal.

Customer Reviews

Great Scholarly Read4
This book is an extremely well researched look at the animal 'other' and its place in human society. Wolfe ties in all the major philosophical players, while managing to present a refreshingly new point of view. Although I'd recommend this book to anyone doing research in the area, casual readers should be warned that this is not a light read. It is helpful, possibly even necessary, to be familiar with the doctrines of humanism before reading this work.

I've only read the first 50 pages, and I know it's a great book.5
Wow. Cary Wolfe is extremely well-read in comparison to the majority of authors I've encountered who write on the subject of humanist anthropocentrism, and this book is a refreshing work in its content and variety. I've just started to read it, and I already know it's going to be one of my new favorites. Wolfe addresses given issues and ideas in specific ways I'd previously only hoped and dreamed someone would. His work definitly stands out above the crowd in terms of the subject matter. I highly recommend it.