English

What is literary theory? Is there a relationship between literature and culture? In fact, what is literature, and does it matter? These are some of the questions addressed by Jonathan Culler in this Very Short Introduction to literary theory. Often a controversial subject, said to have transformed the study of culture and society in the past two decades, literary theory is accused of undermining respect for tradition and truth and encouraging suspicion about the political and psychological implications of cultural projects rather than admiration for great literature. Here, Jonathan Culler explains "theory", not by describing warring "schools" but by sketching key "moves" theory has encouraged, and speaking directly about the implications of theory for thinking about literature, human identity, and the power of language. In this new edition Culler takes a look at new material, including the "death of theory", the links between the theory of narrative and cognitive science, trauma theory, ecocriticism, and includes a new chapter on "Ethics and aesthetics". This lucid introduction is useful for anyone who has wondered what all the fuss is about or who wants to think about literature today.

Now in a fully updated second edition, The Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory is an indispensable guide for anyone approaching the field for the first time. Exploring ideas from a diverse range of disciplines through a series of 11 critical essays and a dictionary of key names and terms, this book examines some of the most complex and fundamental theories in modern scholarship including: Marxism, Trauma Theory, Ecocriticism, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Posthumanism, Gender and Queer Theory, Structuralism, Narrative, Postcolonialism, Deconstruction, Postmodernism