Dominick LaCapra calls for a new view of intellectual history-one that will revitalize the importance of reading and interpreting significant texts. In ten essays, he reformulates the problem of the relation between the "great" texts of the Western tradition and their contexts. Seeking to refine "context" into a concept useful to historical research, LaCapra urges intellectual historians to learn from lessons and developments in contemporary literary criticism and philosophy, fields that have undertaken a radical reassessment of the reading of texts.

About the Author
Dominick LaCapra is Professor Emeritus of History and Comparative Literature and Bowmar Professor Emeritus of Humanistic Studies at Cornell University. He is the author of many books, including History, Literature, Critical Theory; History and Its Limits: Human, Animal, Violence; and History in Transit: Experience, Identity, Critical Theory.

Reviews
"It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of this work for the intellectual historian, philosopher, or literary theorist-in short for anyone concerned with texts."-Larry Shiner, Sangamon State University, Clio, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1984
"This brilliant collection of essays provides a guide to a remarkable range of figures and issues in current critical debate."-David Jobling, St. Andrew's College, Religious Studies Review, July 1985



Book Information
ISBN 9780801498862
Author Dominick LaCapra
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Cornell University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 20mm