Oxford University Press Beyond Deconstruction: The Uses and Abuses of Literary Theory

The past two decades have seen swift and radical change in the way literature is perceived and taught in this country and abroad, as numerous new schools of theory have blossomed, particularly at Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Cambridge. Intended as an introduction to these new theories, Beyond Deconstruction offers a balanced and lively overview that steers clear of technicalities as it explains, explores, and occasionally takes issue with the large movements that have followed the so-called "practical" criticism of F.R. Leavis and others. Felperin focuses on the major schools and figures of structuralism, Marxism, and deconstruction, providing readers with a clear grasp of the ideological and methodological issues involved. In its responsiveness to developments on both sides of the Atlantic and to relations and differences between them, Beyond Deconstruction provides a comprehensive and incisive introduction to the field. Review In a series of brief essays on the reaction to the new criticism, Marxism, structuralism, and deconstruction - which are valuable as a sketch of the recent history of theory - Felperin sharply defines the limits of current interpretive methods. ― Virginia Quarterly Review From the Back Cover Offers an account of the swiftly developing discipline of contemporary literary theory, and of its consequences for future literary study. It is not aimed at promoting the claims of any of the theoretical schools it takes up. Still less does it pretend to advance some new theory that would move us definitively into or beyond post-structuralism. About the Author Howard Felperin is at Macquarie University, Sydney.