The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism

Book Overview

What does Jacques Derrida mean by "Difference?" Who coined the important term "Ideology" that we use so widely today? How can "Object Relations" theory be used in the study of literature? Can someone explain what "Deconstruction" really means?

For the uninitiated, reading literary and cultural criticism can be a daunting task, simply because of its admittedly complex, arcane language that tends to elude the understanding of all but specialists...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231072430
• ISBN13: 9780231072434
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

lucid and succinct descriptions

Childers and Hentzi offers lucid and succinct descriptions of the most common ideas and terms you are likely to encounter in literary theory. Typically, each is covered in only a page. Enough for a quick refresher for students facing an exam. Plus, the explanations often involve pointers to related ideas elsewhere in the book. The book is probably more suited for the undergrad. A grad student in the field should already be well familiar with the terminology.

Freshman to Grad School

This book was assigned to me as a textbook in an undergraduate lit theory course. I'm in grad school now and still use it quite often. Although it has fewer entries than most literary reference books, the definitions are sharp and contain plenty of cross-referencing and important names. This guide is an excellent starting point for term-paper research, and I will probably use it in my own classroom someday.