Tropics of Discourse develops White's ideas on interpretation in history, on the relationship between history and the novel, and on history and historicism. Vico, Croce, Derrida, and Foucault are among the figures he assesses in this work, which also offers original interpretations of a number of literary themes, including the Wild Man and the Noble Savage. White's commentary ranges from a reappraisal of Enlightenment history to a reflective summary of the current state of literary criticism.

About the Author
Hayden White is professor emeritus of the histories of consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of a number of books published by Johns Hopkins, including Tropics of Discourse: Essays in Cultural Criticism, The Content of the Form: Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation, and Figural Realism: Studies in the Mimesis Effect.

Reviews
Like most of White's work, the book arises from a boldly imaginative transaction between the philosophy of history, literary criticism and semiotics. Notes and Queries No other historian appears to be at the frontier of so many developments or so skillful at integrating them into traditional American scholarship in the history of ideas. In this White seems a successor to A. O. Lovejoy and Ernst Cassirer. Journal of Modern History



Book Information
ISBN 9780801827419
Author Hayden White
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 408g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 19mm