Superstructuralism

By Richard Harland

Book Overview

First Published in 2002. It is easy to see that we are living in a time of rapid and radical social change. It is much less easy to grasp the fact that such change will inevitably affect the nature of those disciplines that both reflect our society and help to shape it. Yet this is nowhere more apparent than in the central field of what may, in general terms, be called literary studies. 'New Accents' is intended as a positive response to the initiative offered by such a situation. Each volume in the series will seek to encourage rather than resist the process of change. To stretch rather than reinforce the boundaries that currently define literature and its academic study.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415606888
• ISBN13: 9780415606882
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Accessible, yet insightful

Harland has pulled off the near-impossible: explain the most difficult theories of recent times under a consistent rubric while avoiding the dreaded disease of jargon-riddled "academese" or priestly language wholly inaccessible to the beginner. At the same time, Harland also avoids superficial irrelevance by linking the disparate theories on common ground of superstructuralism. Superstructuralism is Harland's umbrella term for highlighting the important aspects of certain theories of the 20th century that break free from stagnant orthodoxy in philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, linguistics and other related fields of human sciences and rejuvenate these disciples with bold insights that seem to defy standard common-sense that has inherited prejudices of archaic philosophies of the past. His reading of the difficult philosophers appears fair, yet doubly critical enough not to remain a mere epigone. While reading this book, I immediately put down my cash for the sequel, Beyond Superstructuralism.