Abjection and Representation

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 1-15

3. Unpacking Abjection

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 16-39

4. A Cultural History of Abjection

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 40-62

5. Recovering the Sacred: The Abject Body

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 63-81

6. Abjection in the Visual Arts

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 82-117

7. The Formless

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 118-129

8. Abjection and Film

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 130-155

9. Abjection in Literature

   • Rina Arya

   Pages 156-188

10. Concluding Remarks

    • Rina Arya

    Pages 189-196

11. Back Matter

    Pages 197-231

    PDF

Abjection and Representation is a theoretical investigation of the concept of abjection as expounded by Julia Kristeva in Powers of Horror (1982) and its application in various fields including the visual arts, film and literature. It examines the complexity of the concept and its significance as a cultural category.

• complexity
• cultural history
• film
• visual arts

'Rina Arya's Abjection and Representation is a clearly written and accessible introductory guide to our various social, political, psychic, corporeal, and aesthetic 'adventures of abjection' in contemporary theory, art, literature, and film. The book is long-needed and effectively has no peers.' Calvin Thomas, Georgia State University, USA

'The theme of abjection involves necessarily close attention to the work of Georges Bataille and Julia Kristeva. It begins in our human experience of the body in all its complexity, involving a profound sense of the sacred and the dark depths of psychoanalysis in Kristeva's writings. At the same time, the relationship between experience and the theoretical is central to Arya's work. She covers the fields of art, film and literature with equal ease and leaves us profoundly in her debt. This is a mature, articulate book that traverses difficult terrain for the reader who will find the author a sure and invaluable guide.' - David Jasper, University of Glasgow and Renmin University of China, Beijing

• University of Wolverhampton, UK

  Rina Arya

Rina Arya is Reader at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Her areas of expertise include art theory and post-war art, and she has written extensively on Francis Bacon and Georges Bataille. Previously published works include Francis Bacon: Painting in a Godless World (2012), which was long-listed for the William M. B. Berger Prize for British Art History, Contemplations of the Spiritual in Art (2013) and Abject Visions: Powers of Horror in Art and Visual Culture (co-edited with Nicholas Chare; 2015).

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