Marxist Shakespeares (Accents on Shakespeare) [Hardcover]

Jean E. Howard (Editor), Scott Cutler Shershow (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415202337 | ISBN-13: 978-0415202336 | Publication Date: January 4, 2001 | Edition: 1

Marxist Shakespeares uses the rich analytic resources of the Marxist tradition to look at Shakespeare's plays afresh. The book offers new insights into the historical conditions within which Shakespeare's representations of class and gender emerged, and into Shakespeare's role in the global culture industry stretching from Hollywood to the Globe Theatre. A vital resource for students of Shakespeare which includes Marx's own readings of Shakespeare, Derrida on Marx, and also Bourdieu, Bataillle, Negri and Alice Clark.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Since both critical theory and Shakespeare are core elements of most graduate English programs, a new series of books focusing on critical theories on the Bard himself and his works can only be welcome. Routledge has launched its "Accents on Shakespeare" series with six titles and the promise of more to come. Each title takes a critical theory and applies it to some aspect of ShakespeareDsuch as the plays, themes in his work, or the effect of the theory on a reading. Each volume reviewed here begins with an introduction or foreword that frames the critical theory in question and sets the stage for the essays to follow. In seven essays, Philosophical Shakespeares explores such topics as value and meaning and the application of various philosophical schools to Shakespeare. In ten essays, Shakespeare and Modernity looks at identity and self, the rise of nationhood, the start of colonialism in the Western world, and other similar topics. In twelve essays, Marxist Shakespeares ponders such themes as the idea of social class in the plays and the effects of literature on nationalism. The contributors are professors in a range of subject areas, most of whom have previously published works on Shakespeare. Articulate, challenging, and enlightening, this unique, theory-based set of books is recommended for academic libraries.DNeal Wyatt, Chesterfield P.L., VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

I have personally purchased and studied every one of the new Accents on Shakespeare volumes in the new series edited by Terence Hawkes and repeatedly turn to them as resources for my own research and teaching. My students - graduate and undergraduate alike - find them invaluable, as I do. They are remarkably comprehensive, timely, and informative, and essential way to keep current with the fundamental ideas in Shakespearean criticism.
–Arthur F. Kinney, Thomas W. Copeland Professor of Literary History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Accents on Shakespeare is shaping up as everything a streetwise series of books on the Bard should be: engaged, imaginative, heretical and occasionally outrageous. No one who aims to have their finger on the pulse of Shakespeare studies can afford to ignore it.
–Kiernan Ryan Professor of English, Royal Holloway, University of London and Fellow of New Hall, University of Cambridge

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415202337
• ISBN-13: 978-0415202336
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,221,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott Cutler Shershow is Professor of English and a former Chair of the graduate program in Critical Theory at the University of California, Davis. His current research focuses on the application of deconstruction to legal and political issues, both historical and contemporary. In addition to the books featured on this page, he has recently published (in collaboration with Scott Michaelsen) a series of interrelated articles addressing issues such as welfare, affirmative action, torture, the Guantanamo detainees, and the vexed relation of state secrecy and personal privacy. He is currently at work on a project attempting to historicize and critique the concept of "human dignity."