Michel Foucault, Qu'est -ce qu'un auteur? [What is an Author?]

Jiani Fan (Princeton University)
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“Qu’est ce qu’un auteur (What is an Author?)” is an article derived from Michel Foucault’s speech in the

Société française de philosophie

in February 1969. This text constitutes a backlash against Gustave Lanson’s method of literary history. An influential scholar in French literary criticism, Lanson’s method dominated French universities for many decades. This method promotes literary sociology, deeming circumstantial influence and an author’s original intention as crucial in producing and interpreting literary texts. As a result, this method merges literary criticism and literary history. Besides this legacy that Foucault strives to get rid of, he also draws his inspiration from his poststructuralist precursors, such as Maurice Blanchot and Roland Barthes.…

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Citation: Fan, Jiani. "Qu'est -ce qu'un auteur?". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 September 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20701, accessed 31 October 2024.]

20701 Qu'est -ce qu'un auteur? 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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