Post-Theories in Literary and Cultural Studies

(Hardback)

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Post-Theories in Literary and Cultural Studies focuses on the shifting paradigms in literary and cultural studies. Prompted by the changes and problems on the global scale, the last two decades have seen a resurgence of scholarly interest in theories which are more embedded in the social realities and human condition. This volume shows that theory can reinvent theory and re-define criticism according to the demands of the new millennium. In this context, it examines new ways of considering the relation of post-theory to the concepts such as ethics, aesthetics, truth, value, authenticity, human, and reality to understand the mindset of the new century. Without disregarding or neglecting the legacy of Theory, this volume presents the various suggestions and concerns of post-theoretical studies that reflect the sensibilities of the contemporary social and cultural life. It is a timely and relevant source of reference to those who wish to develop an understanding of this change of attitude in post-theoretical studies towards a more directly and sincerely responsive approach to the current problems worldwide, their representations in literature and language, reflections in theory, roots in socio-political domains, and effects on the material reality.

Reviews

Post-Theories in Literary and Cultural Studies presents a wide-ranging and impressive collection of essays which, while respecting the legacy of Theory, seeks - and explores - ways to go beyond Theory by taking us into what one might call the realm of the "post" that of "post-postmodernism", "post-translation studies", "post-humanism", "post-Lacanian psychoanalysis", "post-philology" and other and similar reorientations that build upon the achievement of Theory and yet offer new and promising directions for literary and cultural studies.

With its finger firmly on the pulse, this wide-ranging volume provides fresh perspectives on the condition of literary and cultural theory in our critical present. It opens by endorsing Braidotti's recent exclamation that 'Theory is back!', as reflected in engaging with the posthumanistic ideas of Deleuze and of Lacan. Potentially allied to this, ecocritical theories have achieved here an urgent currency. But the volume as a whole, wisely never allows theory to be pigeon-holed as a canonical set of writers or ideas. We are shown multiple routes - posthumanist, literary, philological - into and out of our situation. This diversity is stylishly introduced and cogently arranged via the skillful editing of Zekiye Antakyaloglu. She and the contributors have produced an important reflection on these critical times.

Author Bio

Zekiye Antakyalolu is professor and chair of English Literature at Gaziantep University, Turkey.