Todd McGowan
{{Short description|American philosopher}}
{{Infobox philosopher
|region=Western philosophy
|image=
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|name=Todd McGowan
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1967|10|9}}
|birth_place=Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
|death_date=
|death_place=
|school_tradition=Continental, Hegelianism, Lacanianism, existentialism
|institutions=University of Vermont
|main_interests=Psychoanalytic film theory
|thesis_title=The Empty Subject: The New Canon and the Politics of Existence
|thesis_url= http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487932351057536
|thesis_year=1996
|doctoral_advisor=Walter A. Davis
|academic_advisors=
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|education=Ohio State University (PhD)
|awards=
|website=https://www.uvm.edu/cas/english/profiles/todd-mcgowan
}}
Todd McGowan (born October 9, 1967) is an American film scholar, philosopher, and professor of English at the University of Vermont where he teaches film and cultural theory. He works on Hegel, psychoanalysis, and existentialism, and the intersection of these lines of thought with the cinema.{{Cite web |title=Todd McGowan |url=https://www.uvm.edu/cas/english/profiles/todd-mcgowan |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=www.uvm.edu |language=en}} McGowan is the author of more than 15 books, editor of Film Theory in Practice series from Bloomsbury{{Cite web |last= |title=Film Theory in Practice series, Bloomsbury Publishing (US) |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/series/film-theory-in-practice/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=www.bloomsbury.com |language=en}} and co-editor of the Diaeresis series at Northwestern University Press with Slavoj Žižek and Adrian Johnston.{{Cite web |title=Diaeresis |url=https://nupress.northwestern.edu/search-results-list/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Northwestern University Press |language=en-US}} McGowan's work has been described as a "Politics of Death Drive".{{Cite journal |last1=Terada |first1=Randall |last2=McGowan |first2=Todd |date=2014 |title=A Politics of the Death Drive |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305079 |journal=American Imago |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=89–96 |jstor=26305079 |issn=0065-860X}} McGowan cohosts the podcast Why Theory with Ryan Engley.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-05 |title=Why Theory on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-theory/id1299863834 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}
Work
= Hegelianism =
In Emancipation After Hegel (2019), Todd McGowan presents ‘a new radical Hegel’, dispensing with the infamous formula of the dialectic as ‘thesis, antithesis, synthesis’, McGowan maintains that contradiction is not the opposition of an antithesis to a thesis, but occurs when a position follows its own internal logic and exposes its inner division. According to McGowan, Freud's psychoanalytic theory ‘provides a theoretical supplement for Hegel’. By conceptualizing the unconscious, Freud sees subjectivity through a contradiction that it cannot eliminate.{{Cite journal |last=Sembou |first=Evangelia |date=December 2021 |title=Todd McGowan. Emancipation After Hegel. Achieving A Contradictory Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019. ISBN: 978-0-231-19270-5 (hbk). Pp. 270. £25. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/hegel-bulletin/article/abs/todd-mcgowan-emancipation-after-hegel-achieving-a-contradictory-revolution-new-york-columbia-university-press-2019-isbn-9780231192705-hbk-pp-270-25/80E13C46B4CA00FF08006B3FE6CBC044 |journal=Hegel Bulletin |language=en |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=472–475 |doi=10.1017/hgl.2020.10 |issn=2051-5367|url-access=subscription }}
Bibliography
- {{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9780791491065 |chapter= |doi=10.1515/9780791491065 |jstor=jj.18255528 |title=The Feminine "No!" |date=2000 |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |isbn=978-0-7914-9106-5}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.18253110 |title= The End of Dissatisfaction? Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment|date=2004 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-5968-3}}{{Cite journal |last=Johnston |first=Adrian |date=2005 |title=Review of The End of Dissatisfaction?: Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462740 |journal=South Atlantic Review |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=165–169 |jstor=20462740 |issn=0277-335X}}
- {{cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.18253742 |title= The Real Gaze: Film Theory after Lacan|publisher=SUNY Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7914-7039-8 |edition= |location=New York |language=En |accessdate=}} Translated into Turkish, Polish, and Persian.
- {{cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JBCT1thOsEC |title= The Impossible David Lynch|publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-231-13954-0 |edition= |location=New York |language=En |accessdate=}}{{Cite journal |last=Sinnerbrink |first=Robert |date=2007 |editor-last=McGowan |editor-first=Todd |title=Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lynch But Were Afraid to Ask Lacan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27784743 |journal=South Atlantic Review |volume=72 |issue=4 |pages=128–132 |jstor=27784743 |issn=0277-335X}}{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=D. Harlan |date=2007 |title=Review of The Impossible David Lynch |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24350998 |journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts |volume=18 |issue=2 (70) |pages=279–281 |jstor=24350998 |issn=0897-0521}}{{Cite journal |last=Fradley |first=Martin |date=2009-03-01 |title=Review: The Impossible David Lynch, by Todd McGowan |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/fq/article/62/3/84/29113/Review-The-Impossible-David-Lynch-by-Todd |journal=Film Quarterly |language=en |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=84–85 |doi=10.1525/fq.2009.62.3.84 |issn=0015-1386|url-access=subscription }} Translated into Persian
- {{cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |url=https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816669950.001.0001 |title=Out of Time: Desire in Atemporal Cinema |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4529-4709-9 |edition= |location=Minneapolis |doi=10.5749/minnesota/9780816669950.001.0001 |jstor=10.5749/j.cttttprf |language=En |accessdate=}}{{Cite journal |last=Niessen |first=Niels |date=2013 |title=Review of OUT OF TIME: DESIRE IN ATEMPORAL CINEMA |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/culturalcritique.83.2013.0156 |journal=Cultural Critique |volume=83 |pages=156–162 |doi=10.5749/culturalcritique.83.2013.0156 |jstor=10.5749/culturalcritique.83.2013.0156 |issn=0882-4371|url-access=subscription }}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780791485712 |title=The End of Dissatisfaction?: Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment |chapter= |date=2012 |publisher=SUNY Press |doi=10.1515/9780791485712 |doi-broken-date=5 July 2025 |isbn=978-0-7914-8571-2}}{{Cite journal |last=Johnston |first=Adrian |date=2005 |title=Review of The End of Dissatisfaction?: Jacques Lacan and the Emerging Society of Enjoyment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462740 |journal=South Atlantic Review |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=165–169 |jstor=20462740 |issn=0277-335X}} Translated into Japanese
- {{cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv43vtq0 |title=Rupture: On the Emergence of the Political |last2=Eisenstein |first2=Paul |publisher=Northwestern University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-8101-6630-1 |edition= |location=Evanston |doi=10.2307/j.ctv43vtq0 |language=En |accessdate=}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ddr7nv |title=Enjoying What We Don't Have: The Political Project of Psychoanalysis |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8032-4511-2 |location=Lincoln |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1ddr7nv |jstor=j.ctt1ddr7nv |language=En}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt7zw5f7 |title=Spike Lee |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-252-09540-5 |location=Champaign |jstor=10.5406/j.ctt7zw5f7 |language=En}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/9781628920840/ |title=Psychoanalytic Film Theory and The Rules of the Game |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62892-084-0 |location=New York |language=En}} Translated into Persian{{Cite web |date=2022-10-03 |title=Todd McGowan's "Psychoanalytic Film Theory" published in Persian |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/477285/Todd-McGowan-s-Psychoanalytic-Film-Theory-published-in-Persian |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-07-04 |title='Psychoanalytic Film Theory and The Rules of the Game' available {{!}} IBNA |url=https://www.ibna.ir/en/tolidi/308068/psychoanalytic-film-theory-and-the-rules-of-the-game-available |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Iran's Book News Agency (IBNA) |language=en |last1=Com |first1=Behnegarsoft }}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://doi.org/10.7560/737822 |chapter= |doi=10.7560/737822 |title=The Fictional Christopher Nolan |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-292-73783-9}}
- {{cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Todd |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv47w7ff |title=Only a Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy |publisher=Northwestern University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8101-3582-6 |edition= |location=Evanston |doi=10.2307/j.ctv47w7ff |language=En |accessdate=}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.7312/mcgo17872 |chapter=|doi=10.7312/mcgo17872|title=Capitalism and Desire|date=2016|last1=McGowan|first1=Todd|isbn=978-0-231-54221-0}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7312/mcgo19270/html |title=Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution |date=2019 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-54992-9 |doi=10.7312/mcgo19270 |jstor=10.7312/mcgo19270}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.7312/mcgo19770 |chapter=|doi=10.7312/mcgo19770|title=Universality and Identity Politics|date=2019|last1=McGowan|first1=Todd|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-55230-1|jstor=10.7312/mcgo19770}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/9781501392801/ |title=The Racist Fantasy: The Unconscious Roots of Hatred |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-5013-9280-1 |location=New York |language=En}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://www.sublationmedia.com/product-page/enjoyment-left-right |title=Enjoyment Right & Left |publisher=Sublation Media |year=2022 |isbn=979-8-9867884-0-1 |location=New York |language=En}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |url=https://repeaterbooks.com/product/embracing-alienation-why-we-shouldnt-try-to-find-ourselves/ |title=Embracing Alienation: Why we Shouldn't Try to Find Ourselves |publisher=Repeater Books |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-915672-22-3 |location=London |language=En}}
- {{Cite book |last=McGowan |first=Todd |title=Pure Excess: Capitalism and the Commodity |date=2025 |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7312/mcgo21758/html |access-date= |publisher=Columbia University Press |language=en |doi=10.7312/mcgo21758 |jstor=10.7312/mcgo21758 |isbn=978-0-231-56180-8}}
= Edited =
- {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/lacancontemporar0000unse |title=Lacan and Contemporary Film |publisher=The Other Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59051-084-1 |editor-last=McGowan |editor-first=Todd |location=New York |language=En |editor-last2=Kunkle |editor-first2=Sheila}}{{Cite journal |last=Abel |first=Marco |date=2006 |editor-last=McGowan |editor-first=Todd |editor2-last=Kunkle |editor2-first=Sheila |title=Own Your Lack!: New Lacanian Film Theory Encounters the Real in Contemporary Cinema |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064710 |journal=South Atlantic Review |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=132–140 |jstor=20064710 |issn=0277-335X}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781786603234/ |title=Can Philosophy Love? Reflections and Encounters |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-78660-323-4 |editor-last=McGowan |editor-first=Todd |location=London |language=En |editor-last2=Zeiher |editor-first2=Cindy}}
- {{Cite book |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/9781350328945/ |title=Žižek Responds! |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-350-32894-5 |editor-last=Finkelde |editor-first=Dominik |editor-link=Dominik Finkelde |location=London |language=En |editor-last2=Todd |editor-first2=McGowan}}
See also
References
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Category:21st-century American philosophers