The New Critical Idiom Mimesis

作者：Matthew Potolsky

出版社: Routledge ; 1 (2006年02月23日)

平裝: 192頁

語種：英文

ISBN: 0415700302

條形碼: 9780415700306

商品尺寸: 128 x 194 x 20mm 

商品重量: 222.26g

ASIN: 0415700302

內容簡介

A topic that has become increasingly central to the study of art, performance and literature, the 

term mimesis has long been used to refer to the relationship between an image and its ‘real’ 

original. However, recent theorists have extended the concept, highlighting new perspectives on key 

concerns, such as the nature of identity.

Matt Potolsky presents a clear introduction to this potentially daunting concept, examining:

the foundations of mimetic theory in ancient philosophy, from Plato to Aristotle

three key versions of mimesis: imitatio or rhetorical imitation, theatre and theatricality, and 

artistic realism

 the position of mimesis in modern theories of identity and culture, through theorists such as Freud, 

Lacan, Girard and Baudrillard

the possible future of mimetic theory in the concept of ‘memes’, which connects evolutionary 

biology and theories of cultural reproduction.

A multidisciplinary study of a term rapidly returning to the forefront of contemporary theory, 

Mimesis is a welcome guide for readers in such fields as literature, performance and cultural 

studies.

作者簡介

Matthew Potolsky is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Utah where he teaches 

literary theory and modern British and comparative literature. He is co-editor of Perennial Decay: On 

the Aesthetics and Politics of Decadence (1999) and has published on theory and late nineteenth 

century writing.