Introduction: “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
“Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault was first published in 1969 in the French journal Bulletin de la Société française de philosophie. The essay was later translated into English and included in the 1977 collection Language, Counter-Memory, Practice, edited and translated by Donald F. Bouchard and Sherry Simon. It is considered a foundational text in literary theory and critical studies, as it challenged traditional notions of authorship and authorial intent. Foucault’s exploration of the “author function” and its historical and cultural contingency sparked debates about the relationship between authors, texts, and readers, significantly influencing literary studies and the broader field of cultural criticism.
Summary of “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
Reevaluation of the ‘Author’ Concept
- Foucault reflects on his earlier work, realizing that his treatment of authors like Buffon and Marx was naive, particularly in how he used their names without analyzing the ‘author’ function itself: “I spoke of Buffon, Cuvier, Ricardo… but failed to realize that I had allowed their names to function ambiguously.”
Role of the Author in Discourse
- He questions why he used authors’ names in The Order of Things, suggesting that omitting or redefining their use could alter the analysis of discourse: “Why not avoid their use altogether, or, short of that, why not define the manner in which they were used?”
Author as a Functional Construct
- The concept of the author is more than a mere name; it signifies a complex function within discourse, shaping how texts are perceived and valued: “the question of the author demands a more direct response.”
Authorship and Anonymity
- Foucault contrasts the anonymity in traditional discourse with the modern emphasis on authorial presence, noting the shift from evaluating the validity of discourse based on the identity of the author: “In an indifference such as this we must recognize one of the fundamental ethical principles of contemporary writing.”
Text and Author
- The relationship between text and author is complex, involving more than just attribution. Foucault argues that writing has evolved to reference itself rather than express a direct message from the author: “the writing of our day has freed itself from the necessity of ‘expression’; it only refers to itself.”
Author’s Name Function
- Foucault explores how the author’s name functions beyond a mere label, serving as a descriptor that adds layers of meaning and context to texts: “the proper name (and the author’s name as well) has other than indicative functions.”
Author Function Versus Real Individuals
- He distinguishes between the author as a functional role in discourse and the actual individuals, arguing that the author function shapes the reception and classification of texts: “the name of an author is not a function of a man’s civil status, nor is it fictional; it is situated in the breach, among the discontinuities.”
Implications for Discourse Analysis
- By rethinking the author function, Foucault suggests that we can better understand the structures of discourse and the various ways texts can be understood and valued across different cultures and contexts: “the author’s name characterizes a particular manner of existence of discourse.”
Literary Terms in “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
| Term/Concept | Explanation |
| Author Function | A concept that describes the role of the author not just as a creator of textual works but as a function within discourse that governs the reception and use of texts. |
| Discursive Practices | Refers to the processes through which discourse is structured and organized within specific cultural and institutional contexts. |
| Transdiscursive Position | Describes authors who establish discursive fields, allowing for the creation of new texts and authors within these fields, like Freud with psychoanalysis. |
| Author’s Name | Serves not merely as a reference to an individual but acts as a complex marker that influences how texts are interpreted and valued culturally. |
| Textual Relationship | Focuses on the relationship between a text and its author, questioning traditional notions of authorship and how texts signify beyond their authors. |
| Initiator of Discursive Practices | Describes authors who do not just produce individual works but also create the possibility for new types of discourse and ways of thinking. |
Contribution of “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault in Literary Theory
Redefinition of Authorship:
- Foucault challenges the traditional notion of the author as a singular source of meaning, proposing instead that the “author” is a functional concept within discourses that govern how texts are received and understood.
Introduction of the “Author Function”:
- Introduces the “author function” as a key concept, which explains how the attribution of a text to an author affects its reception and categorization, rather than seeing authorship as merely the act of writing.
Impact on Textual Analysis:
- Shifts the focus of textual analysis from the intentions of authors to the discursive functions texts perform within specific cultural contexts, encouraging a focus on the text itself and its intertextual relationships.
Questioning Intellectual Property:
- By questioning the function and role of the author, Foucault also implicitly challenges modern notions of intellectual property, urging reconsideration of how creativity and ownership are defined in literary and other artistic works.
Influence on Poststructuralist Thought:
- “What is an Author?” is foundational in poststructuralist theory, particularly in its emphasis on the death of the author, a concept that suggests removing the author from the center of textual analysis to focus more on reader interpretation and cultural contexts.
Expanding the Scope of Authorship:
- Expands the concept of authorship to include not just those who write but those who create discourses, thereby broadening the understanding of cultural and knowledge production in society.
Historical and Cultural Contextualization:
- Encourages the examination of texts within the broader historical and cultural situations that shape them, moving literary criticism toward a more nuanced understanding of how texts function socially and politically.
Examples of Critiques Through “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
| Title of Literary Work | Critiques through Foucault’s “Who is An Author?” |
| Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes | Challenges the traditional view of Cervantes as the sole creator of the novel. Explores how the text is a product of various cultural and historical discourses. |
| Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | Questions the idea of Mary Shelley as the sole originator of the story. Examines the influence of other texts, scientific discourse, and social anxieties on the novel. |
| Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë | Analyzes the multiple voices and perspectives within the novel, challenging the notion of a single authorial voice. Explores how the text is shaped by class, gender, and historical context. |
| The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald | Investigates how the novel reflects and critiques the cultural and social values of the Jazz Age. Examines how Fitzgerald’s own experiences and perspectives are mediated through the text. |
Criticism Against “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
Overemphasis on the Death of the Author:
- Critics argue that Foucault, similar to Roland Barthes, overly emphasizes the concept of the “death of the author,” which can undermine the importance of an author’s personal context and intentions in understanding a text. This stance can obscure the individual creativity and the unique historical perspective that an author brings to a work.
Lack of Empirical Grounding:
- Foucault’s theories are sometimes criticized for their lack of empirical foundation, relying heavily on philosophical and theoretical assertions without sufficient evidence from textual analysis or historical data.
Neglect of Authorial Agency:
- Some scholars believe that Foucault’s dismissal of the author’s role diminishes the agency authors possess in manipulating language and structure to convey specific meanings, thus potentially limiting a deeper understanding of textual nuances that are intimately connected to the author’s personal insights.
Ambiguity and Complexity:
- The concept of the “author function” is considered by some to be too ambiguous and complex, making it difficult to apply practically in literary criticism. Critics argue that this concept complicates rather than clarifies the role of the author in discourse.
Potential for Relativism:
- Foucault’s approach is sometimes seen as leading to relativism, where the meaning of texts becomes excessively fluid, dependent on the cultural and historical context to the point of negating any inherent meaning within the text itself.
Underestimation of Reader’s Role:
- While Foucault shifts focus from the author to the text and its functions, critics argue that he still does not fully account for the role of the reader, whose interpretation and reception also significantly shape a text’s meaning and impact.
Ideological Bias:
- Foucault’s perspective is often viewed through the lens of his broader philosophical ideologies, including his focus on power dynamics and societal structures, which some critics feel may bias his analysis of authorship and limit its applicability across different genres and historical periods.
Suggested Readings: “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
- Barthes, Roland. “Death of the Author.” Image-Music-Text, translated by Stephen Heath, Hill and Wang, 1977.
- Bennett, Andrew. The Author. Routledge, 2005.
- Burke, Seán. The Death and Return of the Author: Criticism and Subjectivity in Barthes, Foucault and Derrida. 3rd ed., Edinburgh University Press, 2008.
- Chartier, Roger. The Order of Books: Readers, Authors, and Libraries in Europe Between the 14th and 18th Centuries. Stanford University Press, 1994.
- Culler, Jonathan. Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature. Routledge, 1975.
- Derrida, Jacques. “What is an Author?” The Cambridge Companion to Foucault, edited by Gary Gutting, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 233-249.
- Foucault, Michel. “What is an Author?” Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structuralist Criticism, edited by Josué V. Harari, Cornell University Press, 1979.
- Harari, Josué V., editor. Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structuralist Criticism. Cornell University Press, 1979.
- Huffer, Lynne. Mad for Foucault: Rethinking the Foundations of Queer Theory. Columbia University Press, 2010.
- North, Michael. The Final Sculpture: Public Monuments and Modern Poets. Cornell University Press, 1985.
- Rabinow, Paul, editor. The Foucault Reader. Pantheon Books, 1984.
Quotations with Explanation from “Who is An Author?” by Michel Foucault
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “The author is not an indefinite source of significations which fill a work; the author does not precede the works, he is a certain functional principle by which, in our culture, one limits, excludes, and chooses.” | This quote highlights Foucault’s challenge to the traditional view of the author as the sole source of meaning in a text. He argues that the author is a product of cultural and historical forces, and that the meaning of a text is shaped by the context in which it is produced and received. |
| “The author-function is not a pure and simple reconstruction made by the reader.” | This quote emphasizes that the author-function is not simply a product of the reader’s interpretation. Rather, it is a complex phenomenon that is shaped by both the author’s intentions and the reader’s understanding. |
| “The author-function is tied to the legal and institutional systems that circumscribe, determine, and articulate the realm of discourses.” | This quote suggests that the author-function is not a natural or universal phenomenon, but rather a product of specific legal and institutional systems. These systems define who can be an author and what kinds of texts can be considered authoritative. |
| “The author is therefore the ideological figure by which one marks the manner in which we fear the proliferation of meaning.” | This quote suggests that the author-function serves to limit the potential meanings of a text. By attributing a text to a single author, we create a sense of closure and stability, which can be comforting in a world of uncertainty and change. |