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Linda Hutcheon, FRSC, O.C. (born August 24, 1947) is a Canadian academic working in the fields of
literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mo ...
and
criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
,
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
, and
Canadian studies Canadian studies is an interdisciplinary field of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level study of Canadian culture and society, the languages of Canada, Canadian literature, media and communications, Quebec, Acadians, agriculture in Canada, natura ...
. She is a University Professor Emeritus in the Department of English and of the Centre for Comparative Literature at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, where she has taught since 1988. In 2000 she was elected the 117th President of the
Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...
, the third Canadian to hold this position, and the first Canadian woman. She is particularly known for her influential theories of
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
.


Works


Postmodernism

Hutcheon's publications reflect an interest in aesthetic micro-practices such as irony in ''
Irony's Edge image:Duck-Rabbit illusion.jpg, thumbnail , Rabbit? Duck? Both? ''Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony'' is a non-fiction book written by Linda Hutcheon on the subject of irony. Hutcheon rejects the traditional definition of irony as anti ...
'' (Routledge, 1994),
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
in ''A Theory of Parody'' (Meuthen, 1985), and adaptation in ''A Theory of Adaptation'' (Routledge, 2006). Hutcheon has also authored texts which synthesize and contextualize these practices with regard to broader debates about postmodernism, such as ''The Politics of Postmodernism'' (Routledge, 1989), ''A Poetics of Postmodernism'' (Routledge, 1988), and ''Rethinking Literary History'' (OUP, 2002). She also edited influential texts on post-modernity, chief among them being ''A Postmodern Reader'' (SUNY, 1993), co-edited with Joseph P. Natoli. Hutcheon's version of
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
is often contrasted with that of
Fredric Jameson Fredric Jameson (born April 14, 1934) is an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. James ...
in North America: while the latter laments the lack of critical capacities to which postmodern subjects have access, and analyses present capitalist cultural production in terms of a dehistoricized spatial pastiche, Hutcheon highlights the ways in which postmodern modalities actually aid in the process of critique. Specifically, Hutcheon suggests that postmodernism works through parody to "both legitimize and subvert that which it parodies" (Politics, 101). "Through a double process of installing and ironizing, parody signals how present representations come from past ones and what ideological consequences derive from both continuity and difference" (Politics, 93). Thus, far from dehistoricizing the present or organizing history into an incoherent and detached pastiche, postmodernism can rethink history and offer new critical capacities. Hutcheon coined the term
historiographic metafiction Historiographic metafiction is a term coined by Canadian literary theorist Linda Hutcheon in the late 1980s. It incorporates three domains: fiction, history, and theory. Concept The term is used for works of fiction which combine the literary de ...
to describe those literary texts that assert an interpretation of the past but are also intensely self-reflexive (i.e. critical of their own version of the truth as being partial, biased, incomplete, etc.) (Poetics, 122-123). Historiographic metafiction, therefore, allows us to speak constructively about the past in a way that acknowledges the falsity and violence of the "objective" historian's past without leaving us in a totally bewildered and isolated present (as Jameson has it).


Canadian studies

Many of Hutcheon's writings on postmodernism are reflected in a series of books she has written and edited on Canada. ''The Canadian Postmodern'' is a discussion of postmodern textual practices used by Canadian authors of the late twentieth century such as
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
and
Robert Kroetsch Robert Paul Kroetsch (June 26, 1927 – June 21, 2011)
. More than the other forms she discusses, Hutcheon sees irony as particularly significant to
Canadian identity Canadian identity refers to the unique culture, characteristics and condition of being Canadian, as well as the many symbols and expressions that set Canada and Canadians apart from other peoples and cultures of the world. Primary influences on th ...
. Hutcheon argues irony is a "...semantically complex process of relating, differentiating, and combining said and unsaid meanings - and doing so with an evaluative edge" that is enabled by membership in what she describes as "discursive communities". It is through membership in a shared discursive community that the listener is able to recognize that a speaker might be attempting offer an unsaid evaluation. She argues that Canadians lack of a clear nationalist
metanarrative A metanarrative (also meta-narrative and grand narrative; french: métarécit) is a narrative ''about'' narratives of historical meaning, experience, or knowledge, which offers a society legitimation through the anticipated completion of a (as yet ...
and international influences such as history as a British colony, proximity to the United States of America, and immigration, are disposed to seeing their identities as ironic – caught up in multiple discursive communities.Hutcheon, Linda. ''Splitting Images: Contemporary Canadian Ironies''. Toronto: OUP, 1991. pp. 18-21. For Hutcheon's work on ethnic minority writing see ''Other Solitudes: Canadian Multicultural Fiction''. Eds. Linda Hutcheon and Marion Richmond. (Oxford U.P. 1990).


Opera

Since the mid-1990s, Linda Hutcheon has published a number of books on opera with her husband Michael Hutcheon. These works often reflect her interests as a literary critic combined with his interests as a practicing physician and medical researcher.


Selected publications

*''A Theory of Adaptation''. (NY and London: Routledge, 2006). *''Opera: The Art of Dying''. Harvard University Press, 2004 (with Michael Hutcheon). *''Rethinking Literary History: A Forum on Theory''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002 (with Mario J. Valdés). *"Postmodern Afterthoughts". ''Wascana Review of Contemporary Poetry and Short Fiction'' 37.1 (2002): 5-12
[Link to article]
*''Bodily Charm: Living Opera''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000 (with Michael Hutcheon). *"A Crypto-Ethnic Confession". ''The Anthology of Italian-Canadian Writing''. Ed. Joseph Pivato. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 1998. * *''Opera: Desire, Disease, and Death.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996 (with Michael Hutcheon). * "The Post Always Rings Twice: The Postmodern and the Postcolonial". ''Material History Review'' 41 (1995): 4-23.
[Link to article]
*''Irony's Edge"> Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony''. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. Portuguese translation (Belo Horizonte, Brasil: Editora UFMG, 2000); final chapter reprinted in New Contexts of Canadian Criticism (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2001). *"Incredulity toward Metanarrative: Negotiating Postmodernism and Feminisms". ''Collaboration in the Feminine: Writings on Women and Culture from Tessera''. Ed. Barbara Godard. Toronto: Second Story, 1994. 186-192.
[Link to article]
*''The Canadian Postmodern: A Study of Contemporary English-Canadian Fiction''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1992. *''Splitting Images: Contemporary Canadian Ironies''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1991. *"Historiographic Metafiction: Parody and the Intertextuality of History". ''Intertextuality and Contemporary American Fiction''. Ed. P. O'Donnell and Robert Con Davis. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. 3-32.
[Link to article]
*''The Politics of Postmodernism''. London & New York: Routledge, 1989. *"The Postmodern Problematizing of History". ''English Studies in Canada'' 14.4 (1988): 365-382.
[Link to article]
*''A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction''. London & New York: Routledge, 1988. *''A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms''. 1984; rpt with new introduction; Champaign and Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001. *''Leonard Cohen and His Works''. Toronto; ECW Press; two different essays on his poetry and fiction, probably 1992 and 199
ink to article]"> [Link to article]
*''Narcissistic Narrative'' 1980, 1985, 2013.


Awards

* 2016, Lorne Pierce Medal * 2010, invested as an Order of Canada">Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...
* 2005, awarded the Killam Prize, by the Canada Council for the Arts * 1990, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada


External links


Historiographic Metafiction Explained
* ttp://canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/lhutcheon/lhutcheon.php Biographybr>BibliographyOfficial websiteCentre for Comparative Literature
at the University of Toronto.
Online Publications (University of Toronto)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutcheon, Linda 1947 births Living people Canadian feminists University of Toronto faculty Canadian literary critics Women literary critics Irony theorists Narcissism writers Fellows of the Royal Society Officers of the Order of Canada Postmodern feminists Presidents of the Modern Language Association