In this book, John Lechte focuses both on the development of structuralist theory and on key thinkers opposed to this tendency. It is, for both the specialist and the general reader, an indispensable reference book on this century's most important intellectual revolution. In each of the fifty entries, John Lechte skilfully illuminates complex thought with unusual clarity. He also provides complete biographical information and suggestions for further reading. From early structuralism, Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers guides us through post-structuralism, semiotics, post-Marxism, Annales history, on to modernity and post-modernity. It includes chapters on Bahktin, Freud, Bourdieu, Chomsky, Derrida, Lacan, Kristeva, Saussure, Irigaray and Kafka among others. Literary figures who have changed the way language is conceived are considered, together with philosophers, linguists, social theorists, feminists and historians. Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers shows that thought in the twentieth century emphasises the relational dimension of existence rather than an essential dimension. This kind of thought leads on to nihilism, but also to the point where nihilism might be overcome. In explaining new developments in literature, art and philosophy, John Lechte helps readers achieve a more profound understanding of the underpinnings of post-war thought and culture.