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Kristeva reads Bataille

Publication at Faculty of Humanities |
2023

Abstract

In this paper, we will examine the influence of Georges Bataille on the philosophical ideas of Julia Kristeva as a contemporary thinker. While it is widely known that Bataille has an important influence on Kristeva, the specifics of this influence have not been extensively explored.

The focus of this study will be on identifying shared concepts between their philosophies and providing a detailed analysis of Kristeva's adoption of Bataille's ideas. Specifically, we will examine two areas: (1) how Kristeva employed Bataille's methodology in formulating her own theory of language in her early work, and (2) Kristeva's reception of the concept of inner experience, which she primarily utilized in the context of literary and psychoanalytic experience.

Based on this, we will argue that the philosophical and psychoanalytic concept of subjectivity is where Bataille's influence is most prominent. Through our exploration of Kristeva's relationship with Bataille's ideas, we aim to provide one possible contemporary application and contextualization of Bataille's work.