Modern Genre Theory (Longman Critical Readers Series) [Paperback]

David Duff (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582368057 | ISBN-13: 978-0582368057 | Publication Date: December 1999

Much of the world's literature and criticism has been shaped by ideas about the nature, function and value of literary genres. Modern developments in critical theory and the emergence of new media such as film and television, have put in question traditional categories, and challenged the assumptions on which earlier genre theory was based. This anthology, the first of its kind in English, charts these new developments and contains judicious selections from major twentieth-century theorists including Mikhail Bakhtin, Gerard Genette and Jacques Derrida.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Back Cover

Longman Critical Readers

General Editor: Stan Smith
Research Professor in Literary Studies, Nottingham Trent University

This important series takes full account of contemporary literary theory, providing collections of key modern readings of major authors, genres and critical approaches. Prefaced by a wide-ranging editorial introduction setting the readings in context and exploring the issues they raise, individual volumes in the series offer the student authoritative and stimulating guides to the best theoretically-informed critical work on subjects from the Middle Ages to the present.

Paperback

Since Aristotle, genre has been one of the fundamental concepts of literary theory, and much of the world's literature and criticism has been shaped by ideas about the nature, function and value of literary genres. Modern developments in critical theory, however, prompted in part by the iconoclastic practices of modern writers and the emergence of new media such as film and television, have put in question traditional categories, and challenged the assumptions on which earlier genre theory was based. This has led not just to a reinterpretation of individual genres and the development of new classifications, but also to a radically new understanding of such key topics as the mixing and evolution of genres, generic hierarchies and genre-systems, the politics and sociology of genres, and the relations between genre and gender.

This anthology, the first of its kind in English, charts these fascinating developments. Through judicious selections from major twentieth-century genre theorists including Yury Tynyanov, Vladimir Propp, Mikhail Bakhtin, Hans Robert Jauss, Rosalie Colie, Fredric Jameson, Tzvetan Todorov, Gérard Genette and Jacques Derrida, it demonstrates the central role that notions of genre have played in Russian Formalism, structuralism and post-structuralism, reception theory, and various modes of historical criticism. Each essay is accompanied by a detailed headnote, and the
volume opens with a lucid introduction emphasising the international and interdisciplinary character of modern debates about genre. Also included are an annotated bibliography and a glossary of key terms, making this an indispensable resource for students and anyone interested in genre studies or literary theory.

David Duff is Lecturer in English at the University of Aberdeen and previously taught at the universities of Gdansk and Torun, Poland. (DESIGN NOTE - Gdansk has an acute accent)

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Longman Group United Kingdom (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582368057
• ISBN-13: 978-0582368057
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,287,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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