Post-Structuralism – Literary Theory – UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

• Here we will discuss the nature of Post-Structuralism as a movement of mind and as a method of literary criticism, its basic premises and characteristic features. In the 1970s, by radicalizing and challenging certain philosophical positions of Structuralism, Post-Structuralism was born in France. Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan, and Michel Foucault are the three principal exponents of Post-Structuralism.
• Additionally, you we will come across an analysis of Michel Foucault’s stances on language, knowledge, truth, power, subjectivity, identity, and criticism, as well as the consequences of Post-Structuralism. The limitations and applications of the post-structuralist approach to literary criticism are discussed in the conclusion.

Post-Structuralism

• The philosophical and literary theory movement known as Post-Structuralism emerged in the latter half of the 20th century, and it is mostly linked to the writings of Jacques Derrida and his contemporaries. It began as an opposition to Structuralism, which was initially seen in the linguistic studies of Ferdinand de Saussure.
• By the 1950s, Structuralism had found a role in literary theory (Roland Barthes), anthropology (Claude Lévi-Strauss), and psychoanalysis (Jacques Lacan), and it was thought that Structuralism might serve as the foundation for logical explanations across all fields in the human sciences.
• The intellectual movement known as Post-Structuralism emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in France. By questioning established meanings, definitions, binaries, and structures—viewing the boundaries of knowledge as essential to knowing itself—Post-Structuralism both attacks and expands upon Structuralism.
• It questioned Structuralism’s seeming simplicity. Following its rise to popularity in the 1970s, Post-Structuralism encompasses a wide range of philosophical viewpoints and critical approaches that both challenge and radicalize some aspects of Structuralism with relation to language and other signifying systems.
• Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, Roland Barthes (in his later phase), and others are influential post-structuralist philosophers. Many other thinkers, including Jean-François Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, Gilles Deleuze, and Félix Guattari, also exhibit post-structuralist themes and approaches.
• Even though the terms postmodern and post-structural are sometimes used synonymously, it is helpful to note that “postmodern” pertains to developments in literature and artistic forms, while “post-structural” is limited to contemporary theories of criticism and intellectual inquiry.
• Phenomenology, Freudian psychoanalysis, existentialism, and Structuralism are the main sources of Post-Structuralism. The goal of Structuralism, a relatively older philosophical movement, was to identify and characterize the patterns that underlie language, culture, and human behavior. Post-Structuralism does not completely reject Structuralism, even though it denies universal systems and absolute truths.
• Rather, it emerged from Structuralism when some of its proponents pushed Saussurean linguistics to their logical extremes, revealing tensions that undermined Structuralism itself, or became dissatisfied with its restrictions and limitations.
• Language, meaning, social structures, and the concept of the self are all fundamentally challenged by Post-Structuralism. In fact, many post-structuralists began as structuralists who sought to take the movement beyond its original boundaries.
• The term “post” in the title alludes to the fact that several of the writers, including Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Julia Kristeva, were structuralists at one point but later turned against Structuralism.
• The post-structuralists often see culture as inseparable from meaning, which sharply contrasts with Structuralism’s assertion of meaning as independent of culture. According to John Sturrock, Post-Structuralism is a criticism of Structuralism from within, exposing fundamental flaws in its methodology and turning some of its claims against itself—claims that structuralists tended to overlook.
• Moreover, the term Post-Structuralism describes theoretical advancements in continental philosophy and critical theory that emerged from 20th-century French thought. It represents a mode of thinking that stresses the ambiguity of knowledge, particularly knowledge in language, and argues that truth is not fixed but shifts according to one’s social, political, cultural, and economic position.
• Structuralism’s emphasis on frameworks and structures as gateways to truth was strongly challenged by Post-Structuralism. Similar to deconstruction, Post-Structuralism emphasized the instability of meaning.
• While Structuralism viewed language as a closed system, Post-Structuralism recognized the inevitable gap between signifier and signified. It repositioned the reader as more central than the author, asserting that interpretation takes precedence over authorial intention, which can never be fully certain.
• Like other postmodern theories that critique cultural assumptions, post-structuralists stress the need to examine both the text and the knowledge systems that produce it. Though difficult to define precisely, Post-Structuralism can be understood as a set of diverse responses to Structuralism. It rejects claims to absolute or universal “truths” and resists fixed definitions.
• Notably, many thinkers labeled “post-structuralists” did not adopt the term themselves, and no formal post-structuralist manifesto exists. Consequently, debates persist about whether it constitutes a unified philosophical movement.
• Much of what is called post-structuralist thought originated in Europe, though the term gained prominence largely through American academia. While post-structuralists continue to use certain structuralist methods, they reject Structuralism’s confidence in identifying definitive structures of the mind (Sigmund Freud), narrative (Vladimir Propp), or society (Claude Lévi-Strauss). Even linguistics, the foundation laid by Ferdinand de Saussure, has evolved significantly since its structuralist beginnings.

Post-Structuralism as a Method of Literary Criticism

• Post-structural practices often function based on a few fundamental presumptions. According to Post-Structuralism, the idea of the “self” as a unified and integrated entity is a construction. Rather than being stable, the individual is composed of multiple tensions and competing knowledge claims, shaped by factors such as gender, class, and profession. Therefore, to fully analyze a literary work, the reader must understand how the text relates to their own subjectivity. One’s perception of meaning is deeply influenced by their self-perception.
• Although conceptions of the self (or the subject) differ among philosophers, discourse is frequently identified as the force that constitutes it. Jacques Lacan approaches this through psychoanalysis, while Michel Foucault emphasizes the role of power in shaping the individual. In post-structural thought, the reader’s interpretation takes precedence over the author’s intended meaning. The assumption that a literary work possesses a single, fixed meaning or purpose is firmly rejected. Instead, each reader produces a new and distinct meaning, granting the text a unique existence.
• Beyond literary theory, this idea applies to any situation in which a subject interprets a symbol. As in the theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, meaning (the signified) is produced through its relationship with the signifier. However, Post-Structuralism argues that the signified perpetually “slides” beneath the signifier, reinforcing the primacy of the signifier and the instability of meaning.
• For a post-structuralist critic, it is essential to engage multiple, even contradictory, interpretations in order to produce a complex reading of a text. Analyzing how meaning shifts in relation to specific variables—especially the reader’s identity—is central to post-structuralist criticism.