Final answer:
Julia Kristeva's work diverges from Jacques Lacan's by incorporating semiotics into psychoanalytic theory and introducing the concept of 'intertextuality', which references to the interconnectedness of texts. She also emphasizes the 'semiotic' and the 'abject', going beyond the structured language of the unconscious that Lacan focuses on.
Step-by-step explanation:
Julia Kristeva's work differs from Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theories primarily in their approach to the intersection of language and the unconscious. While Lacan conceives of the unconscious as being structured like a language, Kristeva introduces the concept of intertextuality, which suggests that texts (and thus language itself) are shaped by references to and from other texts.
Kristeva expanded on Lacanian psychoanalysis by incorporating semiotics, the study of symbols and signs, into her analysis of text and language. This move contemplates the profound connection between language and the psyche beyond what is represented by structure alone. Her concept of the 'semiotic'—which refers to the pre-linguistic, bodily drives that are expressed in the rhythms and tones of speech—stands in contrast to Lacan's emphasis on the 'symbolic' order, which is the realm of structure and law within language.
Furthermore, Kristeva's interest in the 'abject', the human reaction to a threatened breakdown in meaning caused by the loss of distinction between subject and object, or between self and other, goes beyond Lacanian notions of lack and desire, exploring the limits of the self and the society in which it is situated. This emphasis on the abject and her development of a more nuanced understanding of the symbolic and the semiotic are what fundamentally separate her theoretical contributions from those of Lacan.