My work explores the intricacies of Richard Rorty's theory of the self as it arises out his philosophy of language and then puts that theory into dialogue with the subject as imagined William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!. More specifically, after giving a detailed account of Rorty's theory of the self, I will illuminate shortcomings in his conception of the relationship between the self and community by engaging with the work of John Brenkman. I will then complicate both Rorty's theory, and my Brenkmanian critique of Rorty through a reading of Absalom, Absalom!. My reading seeks to illuminate the imaginative intricacies of the relationship I propose between the subject and community. Lastly, I move to show how this imagined relationship carves out a space for the role genuine agency plays in self creation in ways not accounted for in either Brenkman's or Rorty's work.
","abstract_html":"<p>My work explores the intricacies of Richard Rorty's theory of the self as it arises out his philosophy of language and then puts that theory into dialogue with the subject as imagined William Faulkner's <em>Absalom, Absalom!</em>. More specifically, after giving a detailed account of Rorty's theory of the self, I will illuminate shortcomings in his conception of the relationship between the self and community by engaging with the work of John Brenkman. I will then complicate both Rorty's theory, and my Brenkmanian critique of Rorty through a reading of <em>Absalom, Absalom!</em>. My reading seeks to illuminate the imaginative intricacies of the relationship I propose between the subject and community. Lastly, I move to show how this imagined relationship carves out a space for the role genuine agency plays in self creation in ways not accounted for in either Brenkman's or Rorty's work.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Street, Nathaniel B."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Campus Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literatures","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Meili Steele"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:21Z","subjects":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","Absalom","Absalom!","Agency and Community","Greg Forter","John Brenkman","Philosophy of Self","Richard Rorty"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2010, Nathaniel B. Street"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/276","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Meili Steele"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Street, Nathaniel B."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literatures"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","Absalom","Absalom!","Agency and Community","Greg Forter","John Brenkman","Philosophy of Self","Richard Rorty"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2010, Nathaniel B. Street"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/276"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My work explores the intricacies of Richard Rorty's theory of the self as it arises out his philosophy of language and then puts that theory into dialogue with the subject as imagined William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!. More specifically, after giving a detailed account of Rorty's theory of the self, I will illuminate shortcomings in his conception of the relationship between the self and community by engaging with the work of John Brenkman. I will then complicate both Rorty's theory, and my Brenkmanian critique of Rorty through a reading of Absalom, Absalom!. My reading seeks to illuminate the imaginative intricacies of the relationship I propose between the subject and community. Lastly, I move to show how this imagined relationship carves out a space for the role genuine agency plays in self creation in ways not accounted for in either Brenkman's or Rorty's work.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Self-Creation, Community, and Autonomy: theLiberation of Richard Rorty'S Philosophy of Self As Imagined by Absalom, Absalom!"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Meili Steele"],"dc:creator":["Street, Nathaniel B."],"dc:description.abstract":["My work explores the intricacies of Richard Rorty's theory of the self as it arises out his philosophy of language and then puts that theory into dialogue with the subject as imagined William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!. More specifically, after giving a detailed account of Rorty's theory of the self, I will illuminate shortcomings in his conception of the relationship between the self and community by engaging with the work of John Brenkman. I will then complicate both Rorty's theory, and my Brenkmanian critique of Rorty through a reading of Absalom, Absalom!. My reading seeks to illuminate the imaginative intricacies of the relationship I propose between the subject and community. Lastly, I move to show how this imagined relationship carves out a space for the role genuine agency plays in self creation in ways not accounted for in either Brenkman's or Rorty's work.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/276"],"dc:rights":["© 2010, Nathaniel B. Street"],"dc:subject":["Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature","Absalom","Absalom!","Agency and Community","Greg Forter","John Brenkman","Philosophy of Self","Richard Rorty"],"dc:title":["Self-Creation, Community, and Autonomy: theLiberation of Richard Rorty'S Philosophy of Self As Imagined by Absalom, Absalom!"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literatures"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:21Z"}