The Outsiders: making the existential tradition of communication theory come alive
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Date
2011
Authors
De Wet, Johann. C.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State
Abstract
Albert Camus (1913-1960), recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, was one
of France's greatest post-war writers. He published his first novel, The Outsider
(L'Etranger), in 1942. Given that The Outsider is widely regarded as a classic
existentialist work, the following research question is posed in this article: How, and to
what extent, does the existential tradition of communication theory feature in the
mentioned work? The Penguin edition of the novel (translated from the French by
Joseph Laredo and published in 1983) is used in the study. With regard to the
methodology used, the study necessitated in the main research of literature on The
Outsider, existentialism and existential communication. The methods employed were
analytical in order to determine the relationship between The Outsider, existentialism
and existential communication; and critical, for purposes of highlighting aspects of the
existential tradition of communication theory that can be read in the novel. A brief
summation of the storyline is provided with particular focus on the communication of
the protagonist, Meursault, followed by Camus's short interpretation of the novel which
he wrote as a preface to the American university edition in 1955. Thereafter the gist of
an existential perspective on communication and some recurring themes in
existentialism are provided to facilitate and contextualise the ensuing analysis of The
Outsider. The article concludes that The Outsider persuasively captures fundamental
traits of the existential tradition of communication theory.
Description
Keywords
Camus, Albert, The Outsider
Citation
De Wet, J. C. (2010). The Outsiders: making the existential tradition of communication theory come alive. Communitas, 16, 95-111.