Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide [Paperback]

Lois Tyson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0415974100 | ISBN-13: 978-0415974103 | Edition: 2nd

This new edition of the classic guide offers a thorough and accessible introduction to contemporary critical theory. It provides in-depth coverage of the most common approaches to literary analysis today: feminism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, reader-response theory, new criticism, structuralism and semiotics, deconstruction, new historicism, cultural criticism, lesbian/gay/queer theory, African-American criticism, and postcolonial criticism. The chapters provide an extended explanation of each theory, using examples from everyday life, popular culture, and literary texts; a list of specific questions critics who use that theory ask about literary texts; an interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby through the lens of each theory; a list of questions for further practice to guide readers in applying each theory to different literary works; and a bibliography of primary and secondary works for further reading. This book can be used as the only text in a course or as a precursor to the study of primary theoretical works. It motivates readers by showing them what critical theory can offer in terms of their practical understanding of literary texts and in terms of their personal understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. Both engaging and rigorous, it is a "how-to" book for undergraduate and graduate students new to critical theory and for college professors who want to broaden their repertoire of critical approaches to literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wise and helpful, inspiriting and provocative, reassuring and calming, comprehensive and convincing....should be adopted as an exemplar of how critical theory can be accommodated and described without sacrificing clarity and seriousness of purpose. If only those producing critical theory could hew to the expository and pedagogical standards of this volume, theory would be much more accepted as a valid and necessary part of contemporary social and intellectual life rather than as a...series of codes and ritual practised by an academic clerisy."
-David Greetham, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York, Graduate Center
"Tyson has covered the entire range of current theories and presents them in accessible prose....she makes psychoanalysis come alive as a body of ideas that can help the students learn important things about their lives and, as a result, about Literature....it is better than any other work I have seen....I would use it as the text in an introduction to theory for undergraduates....also be a regular source in a number of other courses, since its coverage of a range of theories makes it a fine starting point in numerous cases."
-Walter A. Davis, Professor of English, The Ohio State University
"Tyson's incomparable critical theory textbook is the long-awaited answer to my prayers....While it is intellectually rigorous, it is a kinder, gentler theory text which prioritizes encouraging students to reach and enabling them to meet its challenges, rather than intimidating and debilitating them with pretentious jargon....uniquely accessible....Tyson's respectful and thoughtful negotiation of the lesbian/gay/queer theory chapter is particularlyoutstanding....a tour-de-force which puts others to shame and should inhabit every personal and professional academic library....we owe her a world of gratitude for this enlightening, passionate achievement."
-Roseanne Hoefel, Department of English, Alma College
"The very best thing by far that has been done in the field....clear coverage of every major field in literary criticism without sacrifice of accuracy....written from a uniquely integrated theoretical perspective, it could easily be used in philosophy as well as English literature classes."
-Alan Hausman, Department of Philosophy, Hunter College, City University of New York
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2nd edition (August 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415974100
• ISBN-13: 978-0415974103
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Criticism & Theory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book made my class a joy., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Critical Theory Today : A User-Friendly Guide (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) (Paperback)

Lois Tyson's Critical Theory Today transformed the 200-level Intro to Literary Studies class that I teach at Aquinas College. Other texts have frustrated and silenced students, but Tyson's book has made my class come alive. Tyson assumes that her readers are intelligent and capable people who need information, examples, and guidance (whereas other texts assume that readers should be crushed and abandoned), and she gives them all that they need in friendly prose. The clear explanations and applications made my students lively and willing to try new ideas. They not only understood the methodologies but also could apply them. I didn't change my teaching style; the credit for the improvement in my class goes to Tyson's excellent text. Please read it.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This One, July 15, 2006

By 

rctnyc (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Critical Theory Today : A User-Friendly Guide (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) (Paperback)

I teach an undergraduate course in critical theory. Tyson's is the single most useful introduction to that subject that I have encountered -- and I've looked at many, many introductions to theory. Tyson's book is clear and practical, setting forth the principles of each critical theory and then applying those principles in analyzing F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby." If I could, I would not merely give this book five stars, but also "flag" it for teachers and students searching Amazon for the best introduction to literary theory: this is the one that you should buy.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking media seriously, October 3, 2001

By 

Dustin Eaton (Grand Rapids, Mi United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critical Theory Today : A User-Friendly Guide (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) (Paperback)

Prof. Tyson's text is a worthy companion to Mcluhan, Chomsky and even Joseph Campbell. The idea that one can find a "skeleton key" for literature is certainly not a new one, but forging your own key has become deliciously less difficult now that Lois Tyson's book is available. Don't like The Great Gatsby, that's okay, apply lit. theory to any available piece of writing, music, art...anything. That's the beauty of the whole process of critical discernment. The question of "what makes good art?" is always relevant, and now a substantial answer may be esier to come by. I return to this book every time I encounter a new concept in psych., sociology, philosophy...it applies to everything. Literature is only the begining.