Critical theory today : a user-friendly guide / Lois Tyson

incl. bibliographical references and index.

Preface to the third edition -- Preface for instructors -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Everything you wanted to know about critical theory but were afraid to ask -- 2. Psychoanalytic criticism -- The origins of the unconscious -- The defenses, anxiety, and core issues -- Dreams and dream symbols -- The meaning of sexuality -- Lacanian psychoanalysis -- Classical psychoanalysis and literature -- Some questions psychoanalytic critics ask about literary texts -- "What's love got to do with it?" : a psychoanalytic reading of The Great Gatsby -- Psychoanalytic approaches to other literary works -- 3. Marxist criticism -- The fundamental premises of Marxism -- The class system in America -- The role of ideology -- Human behavior, the commodity, and the family -- Marxism and literature -- Some questions Marxist critics ask about literary texts -- You are what you own : a Marxist reading of The Great Gatsby -- Marxist approaches to other literary works -- 4. Feminist criticism -- Traditional gender roles -- A summary of feminist premises -- Getting beyond patriarchy -- French feminism -- Multicultural feminism -- Gender studies and feminism -- Feminism and literature -- " ... next they'll throw everything overboard ..." : a feminist reading of The Great Gatsby -- Feminist approaches to other literary works -- 5. New criticism -- "The text itself" -- Literary language and organic unity -- A new critical reading of "there is a girl inside" -- New criticism as intrinsic, objective criticism -- The single best interpretation -- The "deathless song" of longing : a new critical reading of The Great Gatsby -- New critical approaches to other literary works -- 6. Reader-response criticism -- The house passage -- Transactional reader-response theory -- Affective stylistics -- Subjective reader-response theory -- Psychological reader-response theory -- Social reader-response theory -- Defining readers -- Projecting the reader : reader-response analysis of The Great Gatsby -- reader-response approaches to other literary works -- 7. Structuralist criticism -- Structural linguistics -- Structural anthropology -- Semiotics -- Structuralism and literature -- The structure of literary genres -- The structure of narrative (structuralist narratology) -- The structure of literary interpretation -- "Seek and ye shall find" ... and then lose : a structuralist reading of The Great Gatsby -- Structuralist approaches to other literary works -- 8. Deconstructive criticism -- Deconstructing language -- Deconstructing our world -- Deconstructing human identity -- Deconstructing literature -- A deconstructive reading of Robert Frost's "Mending wall" -- " ... the thrilling, returning trains of my youth ... ") : a deconstructive reading of The Great Gatsby -- Deconstructive approaches to other literary works -- 9. New historical and cultural criticism -- New historicism -- New historicism and literature -- Cultural criticism and literature -- The discourse of the self-made man : a new historical reading of The Great Gatsby -- New historical and cultural criticism of other literary works -- 10. Lesbian, gay, and queer criticism -- The marginalization of LGBTQ people -- Lesbian criticism -- Gay criticism -- Queer criticism -- Some shared features of lesbian, gay, and queer criticism -- Will the real Nick Carraway please come out? : a queer reading of The Great Gatsby -- Lesbian, gay, and queer approaches to other literary works -- 11. African American criticism -- Racial issues and African American literary history -- Recent developments : critical race theory -- Basic tenets -- African American criticism and literature -- But where's Harlem? : an African American reading of The Great Gatsby -- African American approaches to other literary works -- 12. Postcolonial criticism -- Colonialist ideology and postcolonial identity -- Foundational postcolonial debates -- Globalization and the "end" of postcolonial theory -- Postcolonial theory and global tourism -- Postcolonial theory and global conservation -- Postcolonial criticism and literature -- The colony within : a postcolonial reading of The Great Gatsby -- Postcolonial approaches to other literary works -- 13. Gaining an overview -- Index

"This thoroughly updated third edition of 'Critical Theory Today' offers an accessible introduction to contemporary critical theory, providing in-depth coverage of the most common approaches to literary analysis today, including: feminism; psychoanalysis; Marxism; reader-response theory; New Criticism; structuralism and semiotics; deconstruction; new historicism and cultural criticism; lesbian, gay, and queer theory; African American criticism and postcolonial criticism."-- from the publisher