Jones, Rachel (Rachel Ellen) (1997) Mosaics of the self : Kantian objects and female subjects in the work of Claire Goll and Paula Ludwig. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In this thesis, I use poetic texts by two German women Expressionist authors,
Claire Gull and Paula Ludwig, to examine questions of selfhood, aesthetics
and sexual difference within a Kantian philosophical frame.
The thesis is structured in two parts. In Part One, I situate the project via a
critical examination of Lyotard's reworking of the Kanlian sublime. I argue
that Lyotard closes down the gaps within Kant's system that feminist
philosophy could usefully exploit and explore. I then position German
Expressionism as an alternative mode of post-Kantianism. I argue that
although the male Expressionist poets break down the Kantian subject-object
distinction, they continue to position woman as the "other".
There follows a brief bridging section, in which I outline work by some of the
key women Expressionists, and argue that the theoretical frameworks used in
Expressionist scholarship are inherently gendered.
In Part Two of the thesis, I explore texts by both Go!! and Ludwig in detail. I
argue that whilst the male Expressionists are concerned with dissolving male
subjecthood, these writers can be read as subverting Kantian space-time to
produce alternative modes of female selfhood and of the sublime.
In chapter 4,! examine Goll's disruptive exploration of a mode of embodied
selfhood generated through productive play and movements of relationality.
Chapters 5 and 6 extend the theme of relationally generated selfhood by
tracing the subversive use of neoplatonic and Orphic elements in a short story
by Goll. In chapter 7, I show how Ludwig radically reconfigures the limits of
both body and self to produce identities no longer constructed via
oppositional boundaries in the manner of the Kantian subject. I conclude by
arguing that the work of these authors provides feminist philosophy with
productive models for rethinking immanent transcendence and relationally
generated selfhood which can incorporate both difference and change.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Goll, Claire, 1891-1977 -- Criticism and interpretation, Ludwig, Paula -- Criticism and interpretation, Expressionism, Feminist theory
Official Date:	September 1997
Dates:	Date Event September 1997 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Extent:	iv, 402 leaves
Language:	eng

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