Chapter 2. Between Standardization and Serialization: Kenneth Burke, Fredric Jameson, and Radical Criticism in the Post-Fordist Era

2020 ◽  
pp. 60-91
Author(s):  
Jason Maxwell

This chapter considers the odd status of literary and rhetorical critic Kenneth Burke within English Studies. It does so by examining a debate between Burke and Fredric Jameson that occurred in the late 1970s in the journal Critical Inquiry; careful attention to the nuances of their exchange reveals why Burke has come to occupy such a central role within the discourse of rhetorical theory but has been largely overlooked within literary and critical theory. Although Burke and Jameson share many similarities concerning methodology and a host of related issues, they ultimately split on the structural characteristics of late capitalism. Whereas Burke asserts that capitalism operates by producing conformity and standardization, Jameson argues that capitalism must be understood as a much more dynamic system. Their differences on this matter illuminate a number of underlying tensions within theoretical work produced in the humanities today.


Author(s):  
HUGO RODAS MORALES

Este libro completa otro, cuyo título destaca el largo periodo que estudia: The Long Twentieth Century. Money, Power, and the Origins of Our Times (1994), adoptado elogiosamente por la teoría posmoderna —“Cultura y capital financiero” de Fredric Jameson—. El que se reseña fue anticipado parcialmente a los lectores de los números 20 y 32 de la conocida publicación internacional New Left Review, en 2003. Del declive militarista euroestadounidense y el prometedor ascenso social y capitalista chino deriva esta mirada occidental (auto)crítica que anticipa sus desafortunadas páginas finales: declarar que Smith y Marx no han sido bien comprendidos reduce toda obra interpretativa anterior sobre dos océanos de conocimiento y otros tantos de errores.


2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-249
Author(s):  
Alexander Shurbanov
Keyword(s):  

boundary 2 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15
Author(s):  
Jonathan Arac

With reference to the author’s experience with English and other languages, this essay reflects on the problem of American monolingualism and explores modes of learned critical attention to the work language does in society, examining writing by Kenneth Burke, Raymond Williams, Erich Auerbach, and Sheldon Pollock.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-76
Author(s):  
Ronnie Peter Pereira Zanatta ◽  
Maria Sara Lima Dias ◽  
Nestor Cortez Saavedra Filho

Background: In a society increasingly marked by the logic of contemporary capitalism, education becomes an instrument for the reproduction of alienated labour forces. Objectives: To provide an overview of the characteristics of subjectivity and attitudes of the postmodern subject based on the studies of Fredric Jameson and David Harvey; unveiling the development of techniques for producing more effective ways of subjecting the company culture to neoliberal rationality described by Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval and their influences on the formation of contemporary identities; reflect on the role of education, in particular of scientific education, in overcoming the state of alienation brought about by the capitalist system of neoliberal societies. Design: Articulation between exploratory and bibliographic research, articulated with the theoretical frameworks of Paulo Freire’s critical theory and pedagogy.  Settings and Participants: Given the typology of the research carried out, articles, books and documents about the capitalist system in neoliberal societies, the educational legislation and Paulo Freire’s pedagogy. Data Collection and analysis: Critical reflection on the texts consulted and included in the research. Results: There is a relationship between the subjects constituted from the marketing logic and the role of the school as a reproducer of mechanisms of subjugation to the hegemonic capitalist system; there is also the business and industrial influence in the development of educational policies throughout the history of education. Conclusions: As a possibility of transforming this scenario of alienation from the educational system to hegemonic power, the Freirean conception of emancipatory critical humanist education is presented, in addition to the reproduction of capitalist logic, based on the awareness of subjects based on dialogical pedagogy and the appropriation of the scientific knowledge as a transformer of reality.


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