The Fate of the Object traces the historical shift in focus from the "difficult" essential object of modernist theater, art, and poetry to its transformation as a sign in a postmodern field of signs. In modern art, the central object had been the abstract painting; in theater, the body of the actor; in poetry, the sonic, visual and grammatical elements of the poem. Spanning several disciplinary boundaries, this ambitious and pioneering book examines how the very process of refinement to locate the essential modernist object dissolves the figure of that object into its signifying ground. Jon Erickson argues that this historical shift from modern object to postmodern sign reflects significant transformations in capitalist society--among them the shift from a production economy to a service economy, the change from a sensually rich to a conceptually alienated cultural consciousness, and the rise of poststructuralist theory as the predominant determiner of value within contemporary art culture. Erickson examines the body as the central object of theater and performance through the theories of Craig, Sartre, Brecht, Artaud, and Grotowski. The art chapter discusses such artists as Malevich, Ad Reinhardt, Duchamp, Warhol and Kosuth, tracing the progression of the abstract painting to its reduction or disappearance in conceptualism and minimalism. The poetry chapter examines Pound's Imagism, Concrete and Sound Poetry, and the contributions of Gertrude Stein and the recent Language Poets. Finally, the author questions the role poststructuralist theory has played in the shift from modern object to postmodern sign and how it may affect our attitudes toward the materiality of the world. Jon Erickson is Assistant Professor of Drama, Ohio State University.

The Fate of the Object: From Modern Object to Postmodern Sign in Performance, Art, and Poetry

Literature & Fiction

Erickson, Jon

Poetry

University of Michigan Press

For anyone who is interested in developments in the study of the Earth's structure, Plate Tectonics offers a full understanding of the theory that provides a single guiding principle to the earth's geological history.  Beginning with a historical overview of plate tectonic theory in this century, the book describes in clear, non-technical language how plate tectonics work, how it affected evolution and extinction, and what the future holds.  Coverage includes: - Seafloor Spreading - Mountain Building - The Rock Cycle - Tectonics and the Environment - Tectonics in Space - Continental Draft

Plate Tectonics: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth

Science & Math

Earth Sciences

Replica Books

Looks at the earth's crust, sedimentary strata, erosion, geologic mapping, fossil beds, folds and faults, volcanoes, and glaciers

Rock Formations and Unusual Geologic Structures: Exploring the Earth's Surface

Nature & Ecology

Explains the theory of continental drift and shows how this activity has affected the Earth's geological make-up

Plate Tectonics: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth (Changing Earth)

FACTS ON FILE+

Rock Formations and Unusual Geological Structures: Exploring the Earth's Surface (The Changing Earth)

Discusses impact craters, caves, caverns, canyons, valleys, basins, volcanic rifts, earthquake faults, ground failures, calderas, fissures, potholes, sinkholes, and crater lakes

Craters, Caverns and Canyons: Delving Beneath the Earth's Surface (The Changing Earth Series)

Quakes, Eruptions and Other Geologic Cataclysms (The Changing Earth)

Examines the effects of population growth on the environment, discussing global pollution, resource depletion, and habitat destruction and their impact on the earth's natural cycles

The Human Volcano: Population Growth As Geologic Force (Changing Earth)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Traces the development of life on earth as shown through the fossil record

A History of Life on Earth: Understanding Our Planet's Past (Changing Earth)

Looks at marine life and the underwater land structures that support it

Marine Geology: Undersea Landforms and Life Forms (Changing Earth Series)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Erickson, Jon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Erickson, Jon