Thinking About Texts is an introductory textbook based on the premise that students are often baffled by their first encounters with contemporary literary theory. It simultaneously develops advanced skills in reading texts, and the ability to think in sophisticated ways about the conditions and concepts which surround and define interpretation in English Studies. Designed to bridge the gap between the ability to read texts and the ability to deploy critical theory, the book expands understanding of five key issues, using diverse textual examples, inter-active exercises and lucid discussion of possible answers - and their consequences.
INTRODUCTION: I Thinking About Texts: Why and How?
II What Do We Mean by Literature?
PART ONE: The Study of Literature
How Do We Define Literature?
Literature versus Popular Fiction?
Literature in the Institution
Literary Canons
PART TWO: Texts, Authors and Critics
What is a Text?
What is an Author?
What Do Critics Do?
PART THREE: Genre
Kind, Genre, Sub-Genre
The Meanings of Genre
Switching Genres
PART FOUR: History
History, Literature, Text
Why Historicise?
The End of History?
PART FIVE: Identities
Reading the Subject
Class
Gender and Sexuality
Nationality and Race
Conclusion: What Next? Texts, Thinking, Theories
Further Reading
Index
INTRODUCTION: I Thinking About Texts: Why and How?
II What Do We Mean by Literature?
PART ONE: The Study of Literature
How Do We Define Literature?
Literature versus Popular Fiction?
Literature in the Institution
Literary Canons
PART TWO: Texts, Authors and Critics
What is a Text?
What is an Author?
What Do Critics Do?
PART THREE: Genre
Kind, Genre, Sub-Genre
The Meanings of Genre
Switching Genres
PART FOUR: History
History, Literature, Text
Why Historicise?
The End of History?
PART FIVE: Identities
Reading the Subject
Class
Gender and Sexuality
Nationality and Race
Conclusion: What Next? Texts, Thinking, Theories
Further Reading
Index