Yale French Studies, Number 142: Lesbian Materialism: The Life and Work of Monique Wittig

Yale French Studies 142 explores the contemporary relevance of an alternative strand of feminism as theorized by Monique Wittig, focusing on lesbian materialism and the materiality of Wittig's archives. The volume reinterrogates the official historiography of French materialist feminism, expands the intellectual framework, insists on language-centric materialism, and attends to the way this literary material inspires material responses and creations within the plastic arts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 13 February 2024
Publisher: Yale University Press

Yale French Studies 142 delves into the contemporary significance of an alternative feminist strand, as envisioned by Monique Wittig. This volume, published by Yale University Press, showcases Monique Wittig (1935–2003), a writer who left France to reside and teach in the United States. Through a diverse array of multidisciplinary conversations spanning literary studies, history, and gender and sexuality studies, the editors, Morgane Cadieu and Annabel L. Kim, aim to demonstrate how Wittig's theoretical and literary work remains an invaluable resource for thinking and creating in the twenty-first century.

In contrast to the "materialist lesbianism" that dominates Wittig's collection of essays, The Straight Mind, Cadieu and Kim introduce "lesbian materialism." This shift focuses on lesbian as the method and materialism as the object, enabling Wittig's work to reach its full potential. The volume challenges the official historiography of French materialist feminism, broadens the intellectual framework within which Wittig's work is typically considered, emphasizes the language-centric materialism that emerges from her writing as a means of bridging the political with the literary, and attends to the way this literary material inspires material responses and creations within the plastic arts.

At the heart of the volume lies a profound appreciation for the materiality of Wittig's archives, housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. This archive serves as a site of lesbian thought, in Wittig's radical sense of the term: a fugitive positionality. By exploring the intersections of literature, history, and gender studies, Yale French Studies 142 offers a fresh perspective on Wittig's legacy, highlighting her contributions to feminist discourse and her enduring influence on contemporary thought.

Weight: 236g
Dimension: 155 x 236 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300267358