Now in its fourth edition, Literary Theory: The Basics is an essential guide to the complicated and often confusing world of literary theory. Readers will encounter a broad range of topics from Marxist and feminist criticism to postmodernism, queer studies, and ecocriticism.
Literary Theory: The Basics shows, in an always lucid and accessible style, how literary theory and practice are connected, and considers key theories and approaches including:
- humanist criticism;
- structuralist and poststructuralist theory;
- postcolonial theory;
- posthumanism, ecocriticism, and animal studies;
- digital humanities and print culture studies.
Literary theory has much to say about the wider world of humanities and beyond, and this guide helps readers to approach the many theories and debates with confidence. Expanded with updates throughout, this is the go-to guide for understanding literary theory today.
Introduction
Chapter 1 Reading for Meaning: Practical Criticism and New Criticism
Chapter 2 Reading for Form and Function: Formalism and Early Structuralism, 1914-1960
Chapter 3 Reading for Form II: French Structuralism, 1950-1975
Chapter 4 Political Reading: Class, Gender, and Race in the 1970s and 1980s
Chapter 5 The Poststructuralist Revolution
Chapter 6 Literature and Culture: Cultural Studies, the New Historicism, Cultural Materialism
Chapter 7 Postcolonial Criticism and Theory
Chapter 8 Sexuality, Literature, Culture and Queer Studies
Chapter 9 Decentring the Human: Posthumanism, Ecocriticism, New Materialism, Animal Studies
Chapter 10 ‘Theory’, Post-Theory, New Challenges
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Hans Bertens is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and Past President of the International Comparative Literature Association. He has published in English and Dutch on postmodernism, American literature, and literary theory.
