The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism (Hardcover)

by Professor Joseph Childers PhD Columbia University (Editor), Professor Gary Hentzi (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Modern literary and cultural criticism has tended to express itself in terms unfamiliar to the nonspecialist (e.g., gynesis, metalanguage, semiotics). This dictionary provides succinct definitions of more than 450 terms relating to criticism and theory in literature, film, linguistics, psychoanalysis, philosophy, feminist studies, media studies, and related areas. Major concepts and schools of thought receive somewhat longer treatment (e.g., two pages for deconstruction). Pronunciation is provided for terms when necessary.

While the needs of the nonspecialist receive special consideration, the dictionary also aims to serve as a useful reference for users with some background in modern criticism and theory. The compilers omitted terms too narrowly associated with a single discipline or adequately treated in sources covering specific fields. The bibliographies that follow most entries direct the user to fuller treatments of the topics. A comprehensive bibliography of 25 pages lists all the works cited in the entry bibliographies. Cross-references within entries direct users to related entries. An index of names includes critics and theoreticians, ranging from Freud to Foucault, cited or discussed in the entries.

Recommended, as appropriate, for academic and large public libraries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
The organization of the Dictionary is genuinely helpful, including as it does short bibliographies for some of the heavyweight entries, pronunciation guides for others and careful cross-references throughout. The entries themselves are lucid, reliable, and often scrupulous in distinguishing various senses of the same term used in different intellectual traditions. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 362 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231072422
• ISBN-13: 978-0231072427
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,707,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lucid and succinct descriptions, May 16, 2006

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism (Paperback)

Childers and Hentzi offers lucid and succinct descriptions of the most common ideas and terms you are likely to encounter in literary theory. Typically, each is covered in only a page. Enough for a quick refresher for students facing an exam. Plus, the explanations often involve pointers to related ideas elsewhere in the book.

The book is probably more suited for the undergrad. A grad student in the field should already be well familiar with the terminology.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freshman to Grad School, November 18, 2004

By	Roy Perez (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism (Paperback)

This book was assigned to me as a textbook in an undergraduate lit theory course. I'm in grad school now and still use it quite often. Although it has fewer entries than most literary reference books, the definitions are sharp and contain plenty of cross-referencing and important names. This guide is an excellent starting point for term-paper research, and I will probably use it in my own classroom someday.