Performativity

In this accessible introduction to a sometimes complex field, James Loxley:

- offers a concise and original account of critical debates around the idea of performativity
- traces the history of the concept through the work of such influential theorists as J. L. Austin, John Searle, Stanley Fish, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man and Judith Butler
- examines the implications of performativity for fields such as literary and cultural theory, philosophy, performance studies, and the theory of gender and sexuality.
- emphasises the political and ethical implications that its most important theorists have drawn from the notion of performativity
- suggests ways in which major debates around the topic have obscured its alternative interpretations and uses.