Intimate Revolt

by Julia Kristeva, Jeanine Herman, Lawrence D. Kritzman (Editor)

Julia Kristeva, herself a product of the famous May '68 Paris student uprising, has long been fascinated by the concept of rebellion and revolution. Psychoanalysts believe that rebellion guarantees our independence and creative capacities, but is revolution still possible? Confronted with the culture of entertainment, can we build and nurture a culture of revolt, in the etymological and Proustian sense of the an unveiling, a return, a displacement, a reconstruction of the past, of memory, of meaning? In the first part of the book, Kristeva examines the manner in which three of the most unsettling modern writers―Aragon, Sartre, and Barthes―affirm their personal rebellion.

In the second part of the book, Kristeva ponders the future of rebellion. She maintains that the "new world order" is not favorable to revolt. "What can we revolt against if power is vacant and values corrupt?" she asks. Not only is political revolt mired in compromise among parties whose differences are less and less obvious, but an essential component of European culture―a culture of doubt and criticism―is losing its moral and aesthetic impact.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis

392 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2000

About the author

Julia Kristeva is professor emerita of linguistics at the Université de Paris VII and author of many acclaimed works. Her Columbia University Press books include Hatred and Forgiveness (2012); The Severed Head: Capital Visions (2014); and, with Philippe Sollers, Marriage as a Fine Art (2016).

Reviews

[Katie]

There were moments reading this book where I wanted to stand on my subway seat, point to the page and say "this woman is brilliant." Her ability as a reader is astounding, and her conclusions are inspiring. Highly recommended for anyone interested in thinking. Which should be everyone.