The Limits of Structuralism

Abstract

Based around seven primary texts spanning 130 years, this volume explores the conceptual boundaries of structuralism, a scholarly movement and associated body of doctrines foundational to modern linguistics and many other humanities and social sciences. Each chapter in the volume presents a classic—and yet today underappreciated—text that addresses questions crucial to the evolution of structuralism. The texts are made accessible to present-day English-speaking readers through translation and extensive critical notes. Each text is introduced by an original essay placing it in its intellectual and historical context and outlining the insights it contains. These essays reveal the complex genealogy of our ideas and enrich our understanding of their contemporary form and use.