Kirjahaku

What does it mean to study English Literature? Have can you navigate and get the most from your degree? The English Literature Companion is your comprehensive introduction to, and exploration of, the discipline of English and Literary Studies. It is your advisor on key decisions, and your one-stop reference source throughout the course. It combines:- A wide-ranging introduction to the nature, breadth and key components of the study of English Literature- Essays by experts in the field on key topics, periods and critical approaches- A glossary of critical terms and a chronology of literary history- Guidance about study skills, from using your time effectively to the practical mechanics of writing essays- Extensive signposting to wider reading and further sources of information- Advice on key decisions taken during a degree and on subsequent career direction and further study.Giving you the foundation and resources you need for success in English Literature, this book is essential pre-course reading and will be an invaluable reference resource throughout your degree.

Deconstruction*Derrida contests the notion that what Jacques Derrida does can be turned into a theory for literary interpretation. It also questions the idea that there is a critical methodology called deconstruction which can be applied to literary texts in a programmatic fashion. In this introductory study to the work of Jacques Derrida, Julian Wolfreys introduces the reader to a range of Derrida's interests and concerns, while offering readings, informed by Derrida's thought, of canonical and less well-known literary works.

This authoritative survey examines how the Victorian middle-classes perceived themselves, through analyses of the literature of the period. Asking how the middle classes distinguished themselves from their forbears, Julian Wolfreys reads in detail major novels by:- Charles Dickens- Elizabeth Gaskell- Wilkie Collins- George Eliot - Thomas Hardy.Wolfreys explores the novelists' constructions of modernity, national identity and their understanding of 'becoming historical' in distinction from that of previous generations. He offers illuminating close readings of texts and examines narratives set in a recent past in order to investigate the role of cultural memory in the making of identity. Also featuring a helpful Chronology and an Annotated Bibliography to aid further study, this stimulating guide encourages readers to reassess the work of key writers of the nineteenth century.

This authoritative survey examines how the Victorian middle-classes perceived themselves, through analyses of the literature of the period. Asking how the middle classes distinguished themselves from their forbears, Julian Wolfreys reads in detail major novels by:- Charles Dickens- Elizabeth Gaskell- Wilkie Collins- George Eliot - Thomas Hardy.Wolfreys explores the novelists' constructions of modernity, national identity and their understanding of 'becoming historical' in distinction from that of previous generations. He offers illuminating close readings of texts and examines narratives set in a recent past in order to investigate the role of cultural memory in the making of identity. Also featuring a helpful Chronology and an Annotated Bibliography to aid further study, this stimulating guide encourages readers to reassess the work of key writers of the nineteenth century.

Julian Wolfreys introduces students to the central concept of transgression, showing how to interpret the concept from a number of theoretical standpoints. He demonstrates how texts from different cultural and historical periods can be read to examine the workings of 'transgression' and the way in which it has changed over time.

Julian Wolfreys introduces students to the central concept of transgression, showing how to interpret the concept from a number of theoretical standpoints. He demonstrates how texts from different cultural and historical periods can be read to examine the workings of 'transgression' and the way in which it has changed over time.

The Mayor of Casterbridge is conventionally understood as being indebted to the forms of tragedy. Following the intertwined fates of its various protagonists, Thomas Hardy's narrative weaves its various strands together as these lead inexorably to the ultimate downfall of Michael Henchard. The essays in this New Casebook showcase some of the most original evaluations of Hardy, from a variety of theoretically informed positions such as Marxism, Feminism, phenomenology and psychoanalysis, as well as providing timely reassessments of the novel's structures and concerns. The introduction situates the novel in relation to the history of critical reception, of both Hardy's work in general and the novel in particular. In addition, it addresses the ways in which critical work on Hardy since the 1970s has sought to reassess the novelist, while complicating the reader's understanding and appreciation of Hardy.

No other major author of the nineteenth century has arguably produced as much critical activity as Thomas Hardy. This timely addition to the Critical Issues series explores the various philosophical views of critics, with close textual analysis of Hardy's novels and with reference to his poetry.

Victorian Hauntings asks its reader to consider the following questions: What does it mean to read or write with ghosts, or to suggest that acts of reading or writing are haunted ? In what ways can authors in the nineteenth century be read so as to acknowledge the various phantom effects which return within their texts ? In what ways do the traces of such " ghost writing " surface in the works of Dickens, Tennyson, Eliot and Hardy ? How does the work of spectrality, revenance and the uncanny transform materially both the forms of the literary in the Victorian era and our reception of it today? Beginning with an expoloration of matters of haunting, the uncanny, the gothic and the spectral, Julian Wolfreys traces the ghostly resonances at work in Victorian writing and how such persistence addresses isues of memory and responsibility which haunt the work of reading. 'Taking the familiar genre of the Gothic as a point of departure and revisiting it through Derridean theory, Wolfreys' book, the first application of "hauntology" to the domain of Victorian Studies is a remarkable achievement. Wolfreys never reduces reading to instrumentality but remains alert to all the potentialities of the texts he reads with a great attention to their idiosyncrasies. Victorian Hauntings should bring a new tone to Victorian Studies, this clever book is quite perfect. - Jean Michel Rabate, Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania 'You'd have to be dead to know more about ghosts than Julian Wolfreys.' Martin McQuillan, University of Leeds

This book is an invaluable reference guide for students of literary and cultural studies which introduces over forty of the complex terms, motifs and concepts in literary and cultural theory today. Critical Keywords in Literary and Cultural Theory- gives students a brief introduction to each concept together with short quotations from the work of key thinkers and critics to stimulate discussion and guide genuine comprehension.- supplies helpful glosses and annotations for each term, concept or keyword which is discussed- offers reflective, practical questions at the end of each entry to direct the student to consider a particular aspect of the quotations and the concept they address- provides explanatory notes and bibliographies to aid further researchThis essential volume is ideal as both a dip-in reference book and a guide to literary theory for practical classroom use.

This is a reference guide for students of literary and cultural studies which introduces over 40 of the complex terms, motifs and concepts in literary and cultural theory. It a brief introduction to each concept together with short quotations from the work of key thinkers and critics.

Through a series of short essays, Readings traces the consideration given to the act of close reading in literary criticism and theory over the last thirty years. Focusing on short passages from a number of critical works, including those by Barthes, Cixous, de Man, Derrida, Foucault, Kristeva, Lacan and J. Hillis Miller amongst others, the essays enact close readings of the trope of reading - its movements and performances in each of the passages in question - so as to offer a more detailed comprehension of the nature of reading, and the ways in which critical thinking has transformed our understanding of what it means to read. Readings addresses in a lively and engaging manner the varying rhythms and articulations made possible through the careful tracing of the process of critical reading which literary theory has made available.

This phenomenological exploration of the streets of Dickens' dark London opens up new perspectives on the city and the writer. Taking Walter Benjamin's "Arcades Project" as its model, "Dickens' City" offers an exciting and original project that opens a dialogue between phenomenology, philosophy and the Dickensian representation of the city in all its forms. Julian Wolfreys suggests that in their representations of London - its streets, buildings, public institutions, domestic residences, rooms and phenomena that constitute such space - Dickens' novels and journalism can be seen as forerunners of urban and material phenomenology. While also addressing those aspects of the urban that are developed from Dickens' interpretations of other literary forms, styles and genres, "Dickens' City" presents in twenty-six episodes (from Bells, Bridges and Butlers via Inns and Interiors and Public Houses, the Police and the Post to Todgers and the Thames) a radical reorientation to London in the nineteenth century, the development of Dickens as a writer, and the ways in which readers today receive and perceive both. Key features: major reassessment of Dickens' writing on the city; dual focus on methodology and the historicity of Dickensian urban consciousness; philosophical reflections on urban tropologies through key passages from Dickens' texts recreate the experience of Victorian London; and, inventive structure offers the reader an experience of the disordered multiplicity of London.

"Difference" has been a term of choice in the humanities for the last few decades, animating an extraordinary variety of work in philosophy, literary studies, religion, law, the social sciences-indeed, in virtually every area of the academy. In projects ranging from deconstructive readings of canonical texts to a radical rethinking of the sacred, "difference" has been the node around which theorists have explored questions of conflict, power, identity, meaning, and knowledge itself in postmodern culture. At this point, what difference does "difference" make? In this imaginatively conceived book, Julian Wolfreys talks to thirteen leading scholars about the place of "difference" in their own work, in their own fields, and in their teaching. How has intellectual engagement with difference-its celebration of otherness and opposition, whether in a work of art or in world politics-shaped teaching, reading, and writing in today's colleges and universities? And at a time when identity politics and cultural critique have been institutionalized by the academy, has "difference" been domesticated? Personal and revealing, these conversations come together as a kind of collective self-portrait of the humanities at one of its important junctures. Thinking Difference offers provocative reflections on what ideas and practices will drive the next generation of critical thinking. Here are original conversations on the career of a key concept with: Nicholas Royle, Derek Attridge, Peggy Kamuf, Avital Ronell, Arkady Plotnitsky, John P. Leavey, Jr., Mary Ann Caws, Jonathan Culler, Gregory L. Ulmer, J. Hillis Miller, John D. Caputo, Kevin Hart, and Werner Hamacher

"Difference" has been a term of choice in the humanities for the last few decades, animating an extraordinary variety of work in philosophy, literary studies, religion, law, the social sciences-indeed, in virtually every area of the academy. In projects ranging from deconstructive readings of canonical texts to a radical rethinking of the sacred, "difference" has been the node around which theorists have explored questions of conflict, power, identity, meaning, and knowledge itself in postmodern culture. At this point, what difference does "difference" make? In this imaginatively conceived book, Julian Wolfreys talks to thirteen leading scholars about the place of "difference" in their own work, in their own fields, and in their teaching. How has intellectual engagement with difference-its celebration of otherness and opposition, whether in a work of art or in world politics-shaped teaching, reading, and writing in today's colleges and universities? And at a time when identity politics and cultural critique have been institutionalized by the academy, has "difference" been domesticated? Personal and revealing, these conversations come together as a kind of collective self-portrait of the humanities at one of its important junctures. Thinking Difference offers provocative reflections on what ideas and practices will drive the next generation of critical thinking. Here are original conversations on the career of a key concept with: Nicholas Royle, Derek Attridge, Peggy Kamuf, Avital Ronell, Arkady Plotnitsky, John P. Leavey, Jr., Mary Ann Caws, Jonathan Culler, Gregory L. Ulmer, J. Hillis Miller, John D. Caputo, Kevin Hart, and Werner Hamacher

Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Jacques Derrida is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His writings, his lectures and his involvement in a number of political causes have transformed the way in which literature and cultural studies is taught yet his work is often met with incomprehension, hostility and fear. This guide provides students with a clear, unintimidating introduction to Derrida, the key concepts and ideas associated with his work and the major subjects he addresses. Without assuming any prior knowledge of Derrida's work or literary theory, the guide introduces Derrida's ideas, work, reception and his wider philosophical and critical influence. Throughout, Wolfreys refers to literature and film examples, grounding discussion of theoretical concepts in close reading of specific texts.

Continuum's "Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Jacques Derrida is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His writings, his lectures and his involvement in a number of political causes have transformed the way in which literature and cultural studies is taught yet his work has often met with incomprehension, hostility and fear. This guide provides students with a clear, unintimidating introduction to Derrida, the key concepts and ideas associated with his work and the major subjects he addresses. Without assuming any prior knowledge of Derrida's work or literary theory more widely, the guide introduces Derrida's ideas, work, reception and his wider philosophical and critical influence. Throughout, Wolfreys refers to literature and film examples, grounding discussion of theoretical concepts in close reading of specific texts.

This is a significant work of original thought - addressing the interface between literature and theory. In the interview that begins "Acts of Literature", Jacques Derrida responds to a question concerning the difference between literature and theory by arguing that despite its institutional status, part of its 'institution' is the right of literature to say anything. Additionally, "Literature" gathers into itself numerous traits of other discourses, other cultures and other histories: autobiographical, theoretical, linguistic, philosophical, economic, scientific and journalistic, amongst others. As a result, we might argue that literature cannot be defined as such, and as soon as one seeks to produce a reading of the literary, complications arise through the difference, as Derrida has it, 'between literatures', and 'between the literary and non-literary'. 'Theory', so-called, is also a matter of difference and differences. Despite its institutional significance, 'theory' remains something many wish would go away, and which, for others, is still not read, is misread, and remains to be read. In examining closely how 'theory' and 'literature' are concepts and names for what we barely perceive, but which touch on one other in complex ways, "Literature, in Theory", seeks to move, with patience and attentiveness, to the beginning of an understanding of their intersections and differences. Examining a wide range of authors, from Dickens to Joyce, and engaging directly with a number of major theorists - including Derrida, Miller, Bloom, Heidegger, Agamben - Wolfreys takes the reader on a journey through the issues and ideas involved in reading literature, in theory.

Jacques Derrida has argued about the difference between literature and theory that despite its institutional status, part of its institution is the right of literature to say anything. Literature cannot be defined as such, and as soon as one seeks to produce a reading of the literary, complications arise. Yet despite its institutional significance, theory remains something many wish would go away; and which, for others, is still not read, is misread, and remains to be read. Like literature, it remains as an enigmatic identity, resistant to definition, but subject to misperceptions and open to general statements that are more or less inaccurate. By examining how theory and literature are concepts and names which touch on one other in complex ways, Julian Wolfreys seeks to understand their intersections and differences. Examining a wide range of authors, from Dickens to Joyce, and engaging directly with a number of major theorists, Wolfreys takes the reader on a journey through the issues and ideas involved in reading literature, in theory.

This is an exploration of the streets of Dickens's London which opens up new perspectives on the city and the writer. Taking Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project as an inspiration, Dickens's London offers an exciting and original project that opens a dialogue between phenomenology, philosophy and the Dickensian representation of the city in all its forms. Julian Wolfreys suggests that in their representations of London - its streets, buildings, public institutions, domestic residences, rooms and phenomena that constitute such space - Dickens's novels and journalism can be seen as forerunners of urban and material phenomenology. While also addressing those aspects of the urban that are developed from Dickens's interpretations of other literary forms, styles and genres, Dickens's London presents in 26 episodes (from Banking and Breakfast via the Insolvent Court, Melancholy and Poverty, to Todgers and Time, Voice and Waking) a radical reorientation to London in the nineteenth century, the development of Dickens as a writer, and the ways in which readers today receive and perceive both. It is a major reassessment of Dickens's writing on the city. It provides dual focus on methodology and the historicity of Dickensian urban consciousness. It provides philosophical reflections on urban tropologies through key passages from Dickens's texts recreate the experience of Victorian London. It's inventive structure offers the reader an experience of the disordered multiplicity of London. It is illustrated with 19 maps and photographs.