"What Is An Author?" by Michel Foucault explores just that, what it means to be an author. He details his response through the compositions themselves, as well as the position, function, and reputation of the person writing.
Following a close reading of Foucault's essay, I had a key analytical question about the text. How do authors of compositions other than writing become designated as an author? Foucault touches on this key question briefly in his response. However, I felt that he did not focus on this subject enough. A large portion of his argument is based solely on authors of written word, which I think is a limitation of his composition. As for the key analytical question, I feel that if the person fits into the definition of an author, they are subsequently an author.
In my opinion, Foucault had a thorough response to his central question overall. He utilized many techniques for strengthening his argument but I think the most effective was tracing writings and authors throughout history. This gave new perspective to his composition as the reader gained new understanding of the changes the author has undergone historically. Additionally, Foucault arranged his ideas thematically. This technique leads the reader through his train of thought, which can deepen the reader's comprehension of the claims. In conclusion, Michel Foucault had a good and lengthy composition to the question "What Is An Author?"
Your analytical question poses a great point! Very thoughtful!
ReplyDeleteI really like your analytical question! It made me think about the process of a writer actually becomes an author. I also like the technique you pointed out about Foucault tracing writings an authors throughout history. I had not thought about it from that perspective that before!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of touching on the techniques Foucault used to make his article so successful!
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