Fredric Jameson: Live Theory

by Ian Buchanan

Widely regarded as one of America's most important cultural theorists, Fredric Jameson has been at the forefront of the field of literary and cultural studies since the early 1970s. Author of The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act and Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Jameson is without doubt one of the leading intellectuals of our time. Fredric Jameson: Live Theory offers an invaluable and highly accessible introduction to the work of this important thinker. Ian Buchanan explores and illuminates how Jameson forms his concepts and how they operate, providing a fascinating account of Jameson's important and ongiong contributions to Critical Theory. The book provides a clear sense of his overall project and the marvellous productivity of his thinking. Motivated by a desire to inaugurate social change by illuminating the obstacles standing in its way, the aim of Jameson's work is to dishabituate us from the comfortable feeling that modern life is enhanced by the global grip of capitalism. The book concludes with a new interview with Jameson himself, in which he discusses the key themes and issues in his work and future directions for the Jamesonian project. Thematically organised, clear and accessible, Fredric Jameson: Live Theory is a key resource for anyone studying this pioneering thinker.

Genres: Philosophy

152 pages, Paperback

First published December 27, 2006

About the author

Born in rural Western Australia, Buchanan grew up in the suburbs of Perth. He did his BA and PhD in the English and Comparative Literature program at Murdoch University, graduating in 1995. His PhD dissertation, entitled, "Heterology: Towards a Transcendental Empiricist Approach to Cultural Studies" attempted to fuse the work of de Certeau and Deleuze for the purposes of doing cultural analysis

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This introduction to the Marxist literary theorist is very readable and full of accessible illustrations of some otherwise difficult concepts. Buchanan provides the theoretical context for the development of Jameson's method as well as the historical circumstances informing contemporary Marxist theory. As an argument for the continued relevence of Marxist theory in literary and cultural studies, this book is very successful.

[Christian Haines · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good review of Jameson's work up until the present. Buchanan makes excellent connections between Jameson's essays on postmodernism and his essay on the sixties. He also nicely coordinates the concept of cognitive mapping to that of utopia, which is crucial in Jameson's thought: adequately thinking the present leads towards the possibility of a future as a radically different space. Some qualms, however. Buchanan underestimates the influence of French theory on Jameson in favor of the German philosophical influence. Jameson's relations to Barthes, Deleuze, and Lacan are not addressed sufficiently. Perhaps, the major gap, however, is a lack of discussion on Jameson's third-world literature essay. This is a decent survey of Jameson's work, very sympathetic (some would say too much so), well-written, and well-ordered. It's an excellent for those who have read a work or two by Jameson and would like to place it in the context of his oeuvre. For more specific analyses of Jameson's work, see a recent work like On Jameson (a collection of essays to which Buchanan contributed).

(I might also add that Jameson's effects on scholarship far exceed his writings. He considers himself a teacher and one would have a difficult time not running into his students (now professors) in the halls of the academe.)

[Robert Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best introduction to Jameson's work available. Buchanan's lucid prose, combined with accessible, often pop culture-based examples, make it a good resource for students.

[Tom L · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the better companions to jameson