Language and materialism: Developments in semiology and the theory of the subject

by Rosalind;Ellis Coward

Book by Coward, Rosalind, Ellis, John

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Philosophy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Bruce Lee Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating romp through Marxism and French semiotics. Along the way, it explores connections between Saussure, Lacan, Foucault, Chomsky, Kristeva, Freud, Piaget and many others. That should sound a lot like the subject matter of Fredric Jameson. What’s missing of course is a connection to the physical world as if all meaning is just a function of language and not of interaction with the world through an embodied mind in a social field. It’s just a shame that French post-war intellectuals really never understood a thing about Charles Sanders Peirce and three step semiosis—hell they didn’t even spell his name right. But I appreciate that they are trying to make the connection between language, narrative, and myth production with economic and social production.