Here is a running list of books and essays that I have either read, am currently reading, or am desperately trying to find the time to make it through in the near future. All of the following are works I would recommend for anyone who is interested in philosophy, rhetoric, gender, sexuality or anyone who just wants to read some great essays. In terms of online book sellers, I am personally a fan of Better World Books, and would recommend you check them out first.
The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Jean-Franscois Lyotard. ISBN-13: 978-0816611737. 110 pages.
In this, Lyotard’s initial text, he introduces postmodernism as a recognized school of critical thought, arguing for the end of the meta-narrative, and the need for more critically-conscious views of narrative and representation.
Heidegger and “the jews”, Jean-Franscois Lyotard. ISBN-13: 978-0816618576. 106 pages.
In this, the most recent of the texts, Lyotard introduces ideas for escaping the silence he explores in The Differend. Here the reader finds questions of how those in power can be overturned by those who have very little, if any, societally-recognized influence.
Phenomenology, Jean-Franscois Lyotard. ISBN-13: 978-0791408063. 147 pages.
In this, the most recent of the texts, Lyotard introduces ideas for escaping the silence he explores in The Differend. Here the reader finds questions of how those in power can be overturned by those who have very little, if any, societally-recognized influence.
The Differend: Phrases in Dispute, Jean-Franscois Lyotard. ISBN-13: 978-0816616114. 208 pages.
In this text, he build upon his views on modernity to question subjectivity and naming, which are a crucial element of any power structure. Here he also introduces the silencing and alienation that can come from a lack of name, and therein a lack of power. This is the foundation of arguments regarding the oppressive nature of gender.
Just Gaming, Jean-Franscois Lyotard. ISBN-13: 978-0816612772. 128 pages.
In this, the most recent of the texts, Lyotard introduces ideas for escaping the silence he explores in The Differend. Here the reader finds questions of how those in power can be overturned by those who have very little, if any, societally-recognized influence.
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Judith Butler. ISBN-13: 978-0415389556. 272 pages.
In this text, Butler builds upon the theory of Lyotard, applying his ideas specifically to gender, and in doing so questions the very nature of static gender identity, developing a theory of gender as performance. This theory has become the starting point for much of Queer Studies, and the deconstruction of gender binaries.
Gender after Lyotard, Margaret Grebowicz (Editor). ISBN-13: 978-0791469569. 238 pages.
This anthology situates central concerns of contemporary feminist theory—aesthetics, embodiment, performance, sexual difference, ethics, testimony—within Lyotard’s writings, to serve as a mediation on the nature of “the political” as understood by Lyotard, and demonstrates the many different ways in which feminist concerns are taken up in discussions regarding the nature of the political in contemporary continental thought.
PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions of Gender and Sexuality, Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel. ISBN-13: 978-1573440745. 180 pages.
Explores the concept of the PoMoSexual, which the authors define as “the queer erotic reality beyond the boundaries of gender, separatism, and essentialist notions of sexual orientation,” in order to theorize the problematic and oppressive nature of gender binaries through a postmodern lens.
Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity, Matt Bernstein Sycamore (Editor). ISBN-13: 978-1580051842. 250 pages.
A collection of essays that confronts and challenges the very notion of belonging. By examining the perilous intersections of identity, categorization, and community, contributors challenge societal mores and countercultural norms. Nobody Passes explores and critiques the various systems of power seen (or not seen) in the act of “passing.” This anthology takes several theoretical approaches to the question: What lies are people forced to tell in order to gain acceptance as ‘real’?
The Political, David Ingram (Editor). ISBN-13: 978-0631215486. 320 pages.
A collection of readings by the most important political philosophers in the six major schools of continental philosophy: phenomenology, existentialism, critical theory, poststructuralism, postmodernism, and postcolonialism.
