0415142792.Routledge.Rewriting.the.Self.Histories.from.the.Renaissance.to.the.Present.Dec.1996.pdf

REWRITING THE SELF
The fundamental issue of identity has been endlessly explored by
philosophers, poets, priests, psychologists, and men and women generally.
Whilst the question has stayed the same, the answers offered have changed
over time. This book examines changing notions of selfhood from a historical
perspective.
The overarching perception of Rewriting the Self is that the received version
of the ‘ascent of Western man’ needs to be rethought in the light of the
critical cultural analyses of today. Rereadings are offered of classic texts like
those of Descartes, but wider perspectives are also presented. These assess
the discursive construction of the self in the light of political, technological
and social changes.
The range of the book is large, both in the number of models of personal
identity discussed and the differing viewpoints from which they are examined:
the eye/I is perpetually contested. Chronologically the book spans from
Petrarch to the present, taking in the Renaissance, Enlightenment,
Romanticism, Modernism and Postmodernism.
Rewriting the Self arises from a seminar series held at the Institute of
Contemporary Arts in London. The accessibility and freshness of these
presentations has been preserved in the contributions to this book. Rewriting
the Self represents a ing together of leading academics from different
fields, and offers a stimulating and controversial account of the meanings
and histories of identity and the self.
REWRITING THE SELF
Histories from the Renaissance to
the Present
Edited by Roy Porter
London and New York
First published 1997
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.

Disclaimer: For copyright reasons, some images in the original version of
this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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