Rousseau in Wootton

Archaeological Reconstruction illustrations of 'Rousseau's cave', Staffordshire, in Dr Stephen Leach, 2016, 'Rousseau in Wootton', Keele University Philosophy Blog: https://philosophyk.wordpress.com/kosak/

Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy, 1994

The American Political Science Review, 1981

Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide, 2016

The Journal of Autoethnography 3 (4): 475-92, 2022

Rousseau left us three examples of life-writing: The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Walker and the Dialogues (also known as Rousseau: Juge de Jean-Jacques). It is here argued that The Confessions is an example of autobiography and The Reveries is an example of memoirs. In contrast to these two works, in form and style the Dialogues have hitherto been thought of as one of a kind, an unparalleled anomaly. In this essay, it will be argued that the Dialogues are an early example of autoethnography. It will be shown how the concept of autoethnography may help us to better appreciate and contextualise this neglected and original work. Furthermore, armed with this knowledge, we might avoid repeating some of Rousseau's mistakes.

History of European Ideas, 2001

To FollowThe Wake of Jacques Derrida, 2010

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Fundamental Political Writings, 2018

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Fundamental Political Writings includes the Social Contract, Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, and “Preface to Narcissus.” Each text has been newly translated, and includes a full complement of explanatory notes. The editors’ introduction offers students diverse points of entry into some of the distinctive possibilities and challenges of each of these fundamental texts, as well as an introduction to Rousseau’s life and historical situation, from his early years in Geneva to his final years in relative solitude. Each text is accompanied by images from the original editions. The volume also includes annotated appendices that help students to explore the origins and influences of Rousseau’s work, including excerpts from Hobbes, Pascal, Descartes, Mandeville, Diderot, Voltaire, Madame de Staël, Benjamin Constant, Joseph de Maistre, Kant, Hegel, and Engels.

Published in the Cambridge Companion to Autobiography, Maria DiBattista and Emily Wittman (eds), 2014