The Age of Structuralism: Levi-Strauss to Foucault

by Edith Kurzweil

Structuralism began in Saussurean linguistics and was enlarged by Claude Levi-Strauss into a new way of thinking that views our world as consisting of relationships between structures we create rather than of objective realities. The Age of Structuralism examines the work of seven writers who either expanded upon or reacted against Levi-Strauss. Placing these major figures in the context of political, historical, and psychoanalytic currents of the time. The Age of Structuralism is a commanding and far-reaching study of a decisive epoch in intellectual history. Kurzwell's new opening essay explains how these towering figures prefigured current emphasis on semiotics, post-structuralism, deconstruction, and post-post-modernism. Kurt H. Wolff called it "lucid, splendid and unobtrusive" when the book first appeared. It remains a central work in the appreciation of the French giants upon whose shoulders the new crop of thinkers expect to stand.

Genres: Philosophy, Linguistics, Anthropology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[m · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked three or four of the essays.

0.1 Intro to the 1996 Edition (3000 words) — good
0.2 Preface (1000 words) — good
0.3 Intro the 1980 Edition (3800 words) — good

1. Claude Lévi-Strauss (6200 words) — ok
2. Louis Althusser (7000 words) — not good. She cites Raymond Aron’s takedown of Althusser; I should read that.

3. Henri Lefebvre (9100 words) — not good
4. Paul Ricoeur (8200 words) — bad
5. Alain Touraine — did not read
6. Jacques Lacan (9600 words) — bad
7. Roland Barthes (8800 words) — not good
8. Foucault (11,500 words) — good
9. Conclusion (6700) — not worth reading

[Federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice overview of a certain class of intellectuals around the French Communist party of the period. The author is not afraid to inject her own opinions here and there, but does so honestly and in a pleasant way.

[melancholinary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief analysis of the French structuralist circle pre and post 68. Some interesting with Kurzweil argumentation added, some are just a summary of the idea postulated by these thinkers (Lacan chapter is pretty much recapitulation of his works).