Author function

The "author function" is a concept developed by Michel Foucault in 1969 in the essay "What is the Author?" [Main Theoretical Points of the author function] Foucault posits that the legal system was central in the rise of the author, as an author was needed (in order to be punished) for making transgressive statements. This is made evident through the rise of the printing press during the time of the Reformation, when religious texts that circulated challenged the authority of the Catholic church. The legal system therefore needed the author in order to make an example out of her.

The author function does not effect all texts in the same way. For example, the author of a science text books is not clear or definable as the author of a well known novel.

The author is not a spontaneous creation or entity, but a carefully constructed social position.

References

• Archaeology of knowledge, by Michel Foucault, Alan Sheridan