Imagination in Theory : Culture, Writing, Words, and Things

Michèle Barrett engages timely issues in great range and depth: humanism, anti-humanism, and ecological responsibility; the disciplinary constitution of objects of study and the writerliness of theory; the relationship of politics and aspiration. She supplements Marxism, interacts with post-structuralism, situates postmodernism in postmodernity, and remains firmly focused on historical change within feminism. She brings us all the way into popular culture, and ends with a virtuoso encounter between Virginia Woolf and Michel Foucault.--Gayatri Chakravorty SpivakImagination has not been contemporary social theory's strongest suit. Michèle Barrett is one of the few theorists who has consistently argued for its importance, and in these elegantly written, lucidly formulated, vigorously argued essays, she develops and enlarges her exploration of this complex terrain of inquiry.--Stuart HallIn this astute and lively book, Michèle Barrett takes the reader on a memorable and informed trip through the highs and lows of twentieth-century culture and its analysis. Imagination in Theory explores the dynamism of the century-long association of literature and theory, and provides one of the best arguments for the productive energy of that alliance.--Cora KaplanImagination in Theory focuses on Michèle Barrett's long-standing interest in cultural questions and shows how it informs her analysis of current developments in social and feminist theory. Taking culture, theory, and writing as its themes, the book translates across the barriers between the humanities and social sciences, raising a number of important-and controversial-issues.

Michele Barrett is Professor of Sociology at the City University, London.