Animal rites : American culture, the discourse of species, and posthumanist theory

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." 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, Maturana, And Varela. Through Detailed Readings Of How Discourses Of Race, Sexuality, Colonialism, And Animality Interact In Twentieth-century American Culture, The Author Explores What It Means, In Theory And Critical Practice, To Take Seriously 'the Question Of The Animal'. Old Orders For New: Ecology, Animal Rights And The Poverty Of Humanism -- In The Shadow Of Wttgenstein's Lion: Language, Ethics, And The Question Of The Animal -- Subject To Sacrifice: Ideology, Psychoanalysis, And The Discourse Of Species In Jonathan Demme's The Silence Of The Lambs (with Jonathan Elmer) -- Aficionados And Friend Killers: Rearticulating Race And Gender Via Species In Hemingway -- Faux Posthumanism: The Discourse Of Species And The Neocolonial Project In Michael Crichton's Congo -- Conclusion: Postmodern Ethics, Thequestion Of The Animal, And The Imperatives Of Posthumanist Theory. Cary Wolfe ; Foreword By W.j.t. Mitchell. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 209-232) And Index. 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 Levinas, 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." Early in The New Ecological Order, French philosopher Luc Ferry characterizes the allure and the danger of ecology in the post-modern moment.