How to Interpret Literature : Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies

Offering a refreshing combination of accessibility and intellectual rigor,How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies,Second Edition, presents an up-to-date, concise, and wide-ranging historicist survey of contemporary thinking in critical theory. The only book of its kind that thoroughly merges literary studies with cultural studies, it provides a critical look at the major movements in literary studies since the 1930s, including those often omitted from other texts. It is also the only up-to-date survey of literary theory that devotes full chapters to Queer Theory and Postcolonial and Race Studies. Intellectually challenging yet remarkably readable,How to Interpret Literature,Second Edition, is ideal as either a stand-alone text or in conjunction with an anthology of primary readings. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES * Uses aconversational and engaging tonethat speaks directly to today's students * Covers avariety of theoretical schools--including New Criticism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and Marxism--weaving connections among chapters to show how these different movements respond to and build upon each other * Offers a richassortment of pedagogical features(charts, text boxes that address frequently asked questions, photos, and a bibliography) NEW TO THIS EDITION * Incorporates thelatest developmentsin the field (e.g., continental political philosophy, ecocriticism, and disability studies) * Presents areorganized and expanded final chapter(Chapter 11: Reader Response) * Now includes"How to Interpret" sectionswithin every chapter *Moves suggested readings to the ends of corresponding chaptersto highlight the texts for students * Includes references to morerecent literature and contemporary movies(e.g.,Avatar), diversifying the already broad selection of examples

Robert Dale Parker is James M. Benson Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.