On the Author Effect: Recovering Collectivity

Abstract

Will the in the modern sense prove to have been only a brief episode in the history of writing? By author we mean an individual who is the sole creator of unique works the originality of which warrants their protection under laws of intellectual property known as copyright or authors' rights. The question is timely because research since the appearance in 1969 of Michel Foucault's essay, What is an Author?, 1 suggests not only that the in this modern sense is a relatively recent invention, but that it does not closely reflect contemporary writing practices. Indeed, on inspection, it is not dear that this notion ever coincided closely with the practice of writing. Yet, as the papers which follow show dearly, this did not prevent the notion from becoming highly influential in promoting certain kinds of writing at the expense of others in our estimation. It has exerted this influence in no small measure by helping to shape the laws which regulate our writing practices.

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