The Jameson Reader

Fredric Jameson is one of the most provocative and influential cultural critics of our age. Analyzing and historicizing cultural phenomena, he weaves together some of the most powerful critical paradigms, including Marxism, psychoanalysis, and poststructuralism, into an original and systematic vision of the contemporary world. The Jameson Reader , which presents essays and excerpts from the broad spectrum of his writings, will be useful for both initiates and veteran readers of his work. For those who are new to Jameson, the Reader will provide an accessible introduction to the intricacies of his thought. Those familiar with Jameson will not only find a convenient collection of important essays, but will also inevitably discover new and exciting aspects of his work. The generous coverage given to seminal texts, such as The Political Unconscious and Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, is complemented by ample attention to lesser–known works. In addition, the editors′ opening essay explores Jameson′s project as a whole. The Jameson Reader will be of interest to students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences, and to anyone who wishes to gain an insight into the work of this important cultural thinker.

Introduction. Part I: Paradigms of Interpretation: . 1. On Interpretation: Literature as a Socially Symbolic Act (1981). 2. Towards Dialectical Criticism (1971). 3. T.W. Adorno (1971). 4. Roland Barthes and Structuralism (1972). 5. Imaginary and Symbolic in Lacan (1977). Part II: Marxism and Culture: . 6. On Jargon (1977). 7. Base and Superstructure (1990). 8. Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture (1979). 9. Marxism and the Historicity of Theory: An Interview by Xudong Zhang (1998). 10. Five Theses on Actually Existing Marxism. Part III: Postmodernism: . 11. Beyond the Cave: Demystifying the Ideology of Modernism (1975). 12. Postmodernism, or The Cultural Login of Late Capitalism (1984). 13. The Antinomies of Postmodernity (1994). 14. Culture and Finance Capital (1997). Part IV: Exercises in Cognitive Mapping: . 15. Cognitive Mapping (1998). 16. Class and Allegory in Contemporary Mass Culture: Dog Day Afternoon as a Political Film (1977). 17. National Allegory in Wyndham Lewis (1979). 18. Third World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism (1986). 19. Totality as Conspiracy (1992). Part V: Utopia: . 20. Introduction/Prospectus: To Reconsider the Relationship of Marxism to Utopian Thought (1976). 21. World–Reduction in Le Guin: The Emergence of Utopian Narrative (1975). 22. Utopian and Anti–Utopianism (1994). Bibliography. Index.

Michael Hardt teaches in the Literature Program at Duke University. His previous books include Gilles Deleuze: An Apprenticeship in Philosophy (1993), Empire (forthcoming) and with Antonion Negri he is co–author of Labor of Dionysus: A Critique of the State–form (1994). Kathi Weeks teaches in the Politics department at Fairfield University. She is the author of Constituting Feminist Subjects (1998).