Foucault and the Kamasutra
Subtitle: the courtesan, the dandy, and the birth of ars erotica as theater in India
By: Sanjay K. Gautam
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 282
ISBN-13: 9780226348308; 9780226348445
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Courtesans in literature; History and criticism; Theater; Philosophy; Influence; Sex; Indic Erotic literature; Indic Aesthetics; Pleasure; Dandies in literature; History
Description: The 'Kamasutra' is best known in the West for its scandalous celebration of unbridled sensuality. Yet, there is much, much more to it; embedded in the text is a vision of the city founded on art and aesthetic pleasure. Sanjay K. Gautam lays out the nature and origin of this iconic Indian text and engages in a serious reading of its relationship with Foucault. Gautam shows how closely intertwined the history of erotics in Indian culture is with the history of theater-aesthetics grounded in the discourse of love, and Foucault provides the framework for opening up an intellectual horizon of Indian thought.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-271) and index.
Table of contents: title: Foucault and the notion of ars erotica: pleasure as desubjectivation; title: Pleasure and patriarchy: the discourse of dharma and the figure of the wife; title: The courtesan and the birth of ars erotica as theater; title: The courtesan and the origins of the Nāṭyaśāstra: from ars erotica to ars theatrica; title: The dandy-guru and the birth of the discourses of erotics and theater; title: The city dandy and the vision of the city based on art; title: Foucault and the Kāmasūtra: parting ways.