3 Review(s)

Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory: From Structuralism to Ecocriticismis a comprehensive survey of the major theoretical schools that have shaped our ideas about literary and cultural phenomena since the mid-twentieth century. Each chapter in this book traces the origin and development of a specific critical approach up to recent times, with a special focus on key thinkers. Chapters on critical race studies and ecocriticism distinguish this book from many others on this subject. Written in a student-friendly manner, it does not presume prior knowledge of Western philosophical thought and makes Theory approachable for students from various backgrounds. Apart from students of English literature, the book will serve the interdisciplinary interests of students of mass communication, history, sociology and gender studies. It will also appeal to the general reader who wants a clearer picture of that 'opaque' academic field called Theory. [This is a prescribed textbook in Delhi University for the BA English (Discipline) course 'The Individual and Society', the concurrent inter-disciplinary course of the BA Honours Programme and most likely for the B.Com Honours Programme. The anthology consists of essays, short stories and poems around the themes of caste, class, gender, race and war and globalization and how these affect the individual. The selections are relevant, up-to-date for first year students in English as well as in other social sciences and humanities.