Reading Kristeva: Unraveling the Double-Bind

"... both an excellent introduction and a thoroughgoing analysis of Kristeva’s writing." —Signs

"The book is a brilliant combination of a recuperative and a critical reading of Kristeva’s work." —Changes: An International Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy

"... a thorough, detailed, and critical analysis of the writings of Julia Kristeva." —Elizabeth Grosz

"... the most involved and engaging study of Julia Kristeva’s work to date..." —The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory

This first full-scale feminist interpretation of Kristeva’s work situates her within the context of French feminism. Oliver guides her readers through Kristeva’s intellectual formation in linguistics, Freud, Lacan, and poetics. This comprehensive introduction to Kristeva makes accessible her important contributions to philosophy, linguistics, and psychoanalytic feminism.

KELLY OLIVER is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Her articles on Nietzsche, Foucault, Kristeva, and feminist philosophy have appeared in Social Theory and Practice, Hypatia, Radical Philosophy, and Diacritics. She is co-editor (with Dale Bauer) of a special issue of Hypatia on philosophy and language.