The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism - Hardcover

Groden

4

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9780801845604: The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801845602 ISBN 13: 9780801845604

Publisher: John Hopkins University Press, 1993

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Postmodernism. Feminism. Bakhtin. New Historicism. Kristeva. Hermeneutics. Cultural Studies. Said. Deconstruction. Semiotics. Over the past generation, literary theory and criticism have become the focus of intellectual activity in the humanities and social sciences--often sparking interest and debate beyond university classrooms in discussions of "political correctness," multiculturalism, and educational reform. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is a major new reference book designed to serve as an international, encyclopedic guide to the important figures, schools, and movements in this influential and expanding area of study.

While concentrating on the explosion of contemporary critical and theoretical works, the Guide provides a comprehensive historical survey of ideas and individuals ranging from Plato and Aristotle to twentieth-century scholars. It includes nearly 200 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historicalperiods. It also examines developments in other disciplines which have shaped literary theory and criticism.

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Review:

"Nothing quite matches this in scope and depth. Taken as a whole, the guide provides a synoptic overview of literary theory from a twentieth-century Western point of view. The articles are succinct and pointed." -- Jeffrey R. Luttrell, American Reference Books Annual, 1995

"A massive, double-columned Yellow Pages of lit crit. If it falls between Abrams and Zola, historically between Plato and postmodernism, intellectually between Aristotle and feminism, or geographically between Japanese Theory and Criticism and Caribbean, you can probably find it here." -- Ray Carney, Partisan Review

"A superlative work of reference that can be read for information, and not just another overview. It provides a comprehensive historical survey of ideas and scholars from Plato to modern times, examining developments in other disciplines which have shaped literary theory and criticism." -- Shelley Walla, Literary Review

"Two centuries ago this jumbo-size book would have come into the world not modestly as a 'guide' but as a fully fledged encyclopedia. It divides a whole field of knowledge into its constituent parts and presents them in alphabetical order with great lucidity, as if to the uninformed... This is a text whose coverage and the general excellence of its entries really will suit the everyday business of study and research." -- Simon During, The Australian

"Although similar works exist, nothing quite matches this in scope and depth. Taken as a whole, the guide provides a synoptic overview of literary theory from a twentieth-century Western point of view. The articles are succinct and pointed." -- Jeffrey R. Luttrell, American Reference Books Annual 1995

"This comprehensive and easily understood reference book will serve as an indisposable guide for helping students or scholars assess and discuss an overwhelming body of material, especially such 'buzz' topics as multiculturalism." -- Cristian Salazar, Bloomsbury Review

"Books such as Holman's Handbook to Literature define these concepts briefly but are no substitute for the Guide's analytical essays and their explanations of the development and significance of key critical theories and their methods. Since the Guide is more comprehensive and analytical than Wendell Harris's Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory, no academic library reference collection can do without it." -- Wilson Library Bulletin

"An uncommonly absorbing reference book that attempts to map changes wrought by an anxious new worldliness and self-consciousness among scholars, which the term 'theory' connotes... For writers and critics, The Johns Hopkins Guide is a must, but every committed reader will want to own it." -- San Francisco Chronicle

Synopsis:

This text is a reference designed to serve as an international, encyclopaedic guide to the important figures, schools, and movements in the influential and expanding area of literary theory and criticism. While concentrating on the explosion of contemporary critical and theoretical works, the guide provides a comprehensive historical survey of ideas and individuals ranging from Plato and Aristotle to 20th-century scholars. It includes nearly 200 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. It also examines developments in other disciplines which have shaped literary theory and criticism. Each entry provides an original and authoritative overview of its subject and includes a selected primary and secondary bibliography. The guide's two indexes - "Names" and "Topics" - should make it easy to locate critics, major terms, and significant concepts discussed within the titled entries. The preface, together with a foreword by Richard Macksey, considers the role and form of theory in literary studies.

With coverage of the varied subjects that literary theory and criticism have come to encompass, the Guide should be a valuable resource for scholars, students, and other readers who want essential facts about particular critics and schools.

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