Theory of Philosophy or Philosophy of Theory: On Jameson's The Years of Theory

Abstract This essay reviews Fredric Jameson's book The Years of Theory, which is the publication of a seminar that Jameson gave at Duke University. The review examines Jameson's attempt to provide a history of theory as an interdisciplinary intellectual movement encompassing philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, and literary studies in France in the second half of the twentieth century. Of particular importance is the way in which Jameson charts the history of theory against the political conflicts of the twentieth century, from the anti-colonial struggle of the 1950s to the student rebellion of the 1960s. Jameson's claim that theory is something distinct from philosophy is also examined.