Best known for his theories of ideology and its impact on politics and culture, Louis Althusser revolutionized Marxist theory. His writing changed the face of literary and cultural studies, and contin
Jean Baudrillard is one of the most controversial theorists of our time, famous for his claim that the Gulf War never happened and for his provocative writing on terrorism, specifically 9/11. This new
It is difficult to imagine a world without common sense, the distinction between truth and falsehood, the belief in some form of morality or an agreement that we are all human. But Friedrich Nietzsche
Slavoj Zizek is no ordinary philosopher. Approaching critical theory and psychoanalysis in a recklessly entertaining fashion, Zizek's critical eye alights upon a bewildering and exhilarating range of
The work of Sigmund Freud has penetrated almost every area of literary theory and cultural studies, as well as contemporary culture. Pamela Thurschwell explains and contextualises psychoanalytic theor
Since the publication of Gender Trouble in 1990, Judith Butler has revolutionised our understanding of identities and the ways in which they are constructed. This volume examines her critical thought
Paul Ricoeur is one of the most wide-ranging thinkers to emerge in the twentieth century. He has developed a unique 'theory of reading' or hermeneutics, which extends far beyond the reading of literar
Frantz Fanon has established a position as a leading anticolonial thinker, through key texts such as Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth. He has influenced the work of thinkers from
Paul Gilroy has been a controversial force at the forefront of debates around race, nation, and diaspora. Working across a broad range of disciplines, Gilroy has argued that racial identities are hist
Mikhail Bakhtin is one of the 20th century's most influential literary theorists. This student-friendly volume starts this with the question "Who Was Bakhtin?" and leads on to cover topics including A
This book surveys a ‘cluster’ of works that seek to explore the cultures of cyberspace, the Internet and the information society. It introduces key ideas, and includes detailed discussion
Tracing the developing modernist aesthetic in the thought and writings of James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf, Deborah Parsons considers the cultural, social and personal influences upo
The American theorists: Henry James, Lionel Trilling and Wayne C. Booth have revolutionized our understanding of narrative and have each championed the novel as an art form. Concepts from their work h
An invaluable introduction to the life and work of one of today's most important cultural critics. Studied on most undergraduate literary and cultural studies courses, Fredric Jameson's writing targe
This Routledge Critical Thinker is an introduction to the literary thought of three major classical thinkers: Plato, Aristotle and Longinus. Students in literary studies frequently come across Plato,
Tracing the developing modernist aesthetic in the thought and writings of James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf, Deborah Parsons considers the cultural, social and personal influences upo
Theories of the city have been fundamental to the development of modernism and postmodernism, and are increasingly important in the fields of cultural studies and visual culture.Jenny Bavidge focuses
Theories of the city have been fundamental to the development of modernism and postmodernism. This work focuses on the work of three leading city theorists - Benjamin, Lefebvre and de Certeau - whose
This Routledge Critical Thinker is an introduction to the literary thought of three major classical thinkers: Plato, Aristotle and Longinus. Students in literary studies frequently come across Plato,
Raymond Williams - a Welsh media critic and a pioneer of cultural studies - believed that the traditional focus of biographies on individuals isolated these people from their communities. For this rea
Hans-Georg Gadamer’s theory of hermeneutics is one of the most important modern theories of reading, offering both a framework for understanding the practice and a method for its interpretation. In th
Frantz Fanon has established a position as a leading anticolonial thinker, through key texts such as Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth. He has influenced the work of thinkers from
Paul Gilroy has been a controversial force at the forefront of debates around race, nation, and diaspora. Working across a broad range of disciplines, Gilroy has argued that racial identities are hist
Mikhail Bakhtin is one of the 20th century's most influential literary theorists. This student-friendly volume starts this with the question "Who Was Bakhtin?" and leads on to cover topics including A
Since the publication of his mammoth work, Being and Time, Martin Heidegger has remained one of the most influential figures in contemporary thought, and is a key influence for modern literary and cul
The work of Sigmund Freud has penetrated almost every area of literary theory and cultural studies, as well as contemporary culture. Pamela Thurschwell explains and contextualises psychoanalytic theor
