RecommendedGuidestoTheory

TempleUniversityGraduateEnglishAssociation

Oneofthemostdifficultaspectsoftransitioningtograduatecourseworkisthefeelingthatone
suddenlyhastoknoweverythingaboutthatamorphousbodyoftexts,thinkers,andtermsthat
goesbythenameoftheory.Professors(andfellowstudents)aretossingaroundnamesand
wordsthatarentexactlyrightthereonthetipofyourtongue,eveniftheyrenotcompletely
unknowntoyou.Whatfollowsisabriefguidetothemanyresourcesthatcanhelpyougeta
handleonthehistory,majorfigures,andkeytermsinliterarytheory.

GuidestoTheory
SingleAuthorIntroductions

LiteraryTheory:ABriefInsight,JonathanCuller(Sterling,2009)
Thisbookoffersashortintroductiontotheorywithlotsofnicepictures.Cullersapproachis
deeplyindebtedtodeconstruction,andhisbooksemphasisonbreakingdownbinaries
demonstratesthistendency.

LiteraryTheory:TheBasics,HansBertens(Routledge,2007)
Thisvolumepridesitselfoncoveringthelatestschoolsofthought,andfromthepublishers
description,thisassessmentseemsaccurate.

BeginningTheory:AnIntroductiontoLiteraryandCulturalTheory,PeterBarry
(ManchesterUP,2002)
Alittlelongerandmorecomprehensivethantheotherbooksonthislist,Barrysbooktakesona
slightlyBritishflavorwhich,whilenotsignificant,isnoticeable.

LiteraryTheory:AnIntroduction,TerryEagleton(UofMinnesotaP,2008)
YoushouldknowbeforereadingthisthatEagletonisaMarxistcritic.Youllcertainlyknowitafter
youvefinishedthebook.

MultiAuthorIntroductions

LiteraryTheoryandCriticism:AnOxfordGuide(OxfordUP,2006)
Thirtynineessaysonindividualaspectsoftheory,themajorityofwhichfocusonthetwentieth
century.Ratherexpensive.

CriticalTermsforLiteraryStudy(UofChicagoP,1995)
Livesuptoitstitle:essaysbymajorfiguresonkeytermssuchasdiscourse,race,and
desire,withtheaddedbenefitoflearningaboutmajorcriticswhilereadingaboutmajorterms.
Thebookisnowoutdated,butthequalityoftheessaysisstillstrong.

TheNortonAnthologyofTheoryandCriticism(Norton,2010)
Hereswheretheheavyliftinghappens:sameprincipleastheNortonsyouusedinundergrad
(keytexts,withintros)butfortheory,fromthepreSocraticstothepresent.Thedepartments
historyofcriticaltheoryexamlistincludesmanyselectionsfromthisanthology.

Dictionaries
ThePenguinDictionaryofLiteraryTermsandLiteraryTheory,J.A.Cuddon(Penguin,2000)
Theemphasisofthisdictionaryisformal.Thiswiderangingreferencevolumefeaturesshort
entriesongenrestudies,literarymovements,narratology,poetics,andothertechnicalmatters.
ExamplesincludeApollonian/Dionysian,BookerMcConnellPrize,carnivalesque,
Knstlerroman,Gothic,novel/fiction,irony,littlemagazines,negativecapability,N(Noh),ode,
revengetragedy,terzarima,andzeugma.Everygraduatestudentofliteratureorcreativewriting
shouldownacopyofthisbook,ChrisBaldicksTheOxfordDictionaryofLiteraryTerms,ora
comparabledictionaryforuseasadeskreference.Itsessentialforquicklyglossingtechnical
termsthatcomeupinseminardiscussions,criticism,andsomeliteratureandfilm,especially
meta.

ThePenguinDictionaryofCriticalTheory,DavidMacey(Penguin,2002)
Themainthrustofthisdictionaryispolitical,psychological,andphilosophical.Thisvolume
placesgreateremphasisthantheabovelistedoneonschoolsofthought,suchas
gynocriticism,thelinguisticturn,NewCriticism,psychoanalysis,thePragueSchool,and
WesternMarxismindividualphilosophersandcritics,includingBenedictAnderson,Mikhail
Bakhtin,HomiK.Bhabha,SimonedeBeauvoir,AimCsaire,HenryLouisGates,Ferdinand
deSaussure,ElaineShowalter,andDerekWalcottinfluentialjournals,includingCriticalInquiry
andRadicalPhilosophyandsuchpoliticallychargedcriticaltermsasanxietyofinfluence,dead
whiteEuropeanmales,fragmentedbody,practicoinert,andrepresentamen.Owningthis
dictionary,IanBuchanansDictionaryofCriticalTheory(below),oracomparablereferencework
isrecommendedforincominggraduatestudents,sincenameandjargondroppingisan
inescapableformofshorthandinEnglishdepartments,giventhebreadthofcriticaltheoryandits
influence.AsJonathanCullerpointsout,acorpusoftheoreticalworksthateverydoctorallevel
studentofEnglishcanbeexpectedtohavereadnolongerexists,ifiteverdid.Thus,reference
worksarenotjustconvenient,butnecessary,sincethetheoryreadingofEnglishandcreative
writingstudentstendstodivergewithincreasinglevelsofspecialization.Thoughintellectual
collaborationisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofgradschool,youwillneverreadallthe
theorythatyourcolleaguesdoandviceversa.Dictionariesandintroductoryguideshelpmake
collaborationhappen.

ADictionaryofCriticalTheory,IanBuchanan(Oxford,2010)
ThisdictionarysharestheformatandemphasisofitsPenguinrivalbutismoreuptodate.Its
thusmorecomprehensiveaboutsuchhottopicsasbiopolitics,cosmopolitanism,cyborgtheory,
diasporastudies,ecocriticism,disabilitystudies,materialcultures,queertheory,whiteness
studies,globalization,masculinitystudies,internet,Film,andmediastudies,spatialapproaches
toartandculture,andnewdevelopmentsincontinentalphilosophy.BoththePenguinandOxford
criticaltheorydictionariesfeatureusefulguidestofurtherreading.

PaleyLibraryResources
(theselinksshoulddirectyourighttotheloginpagethroughthelibraryportal)

TheJohnsHopkinsGuidetoLiteraryTheoryandCriticism
Helpfulencyclopediastyleentriesonkeyfiguresandtopics.Thesecondarysourceslistsatthe
bottomofeachentryareagoldmine.

BlackwellReferenceOnline
Simplytonsoffree,easytoaccessinformation,includingbutbynomeanslimitedtoMichael
PaynesDictionaryofCulturalandCriticalTheoryandTempleEnglishprofessorPeterLogans
TheEncyclopediaoftheNovel.SeeespeciallyMichaelRyan'sTheEncyclopediaofLiterary
andCulturalTheory.MichaelRyanisaprofessorofFilmandMediaArtsatTemplesSchoolof
Communicationsandthecoeditorofatextusedinadvancedundergraduatecourses,Literary
Theory:AnAnthology(WileyBlackwell,2007).Hesthuswellplacedtoeditthisencyclopedia,
whichwilllikelyremaintheresourceofrecordforsometime.Itsstronginsocialandpolitical
approaches,especiallyculturalstudies.

TheCambridgeCompanionstoLiteratureandClassics
Yes,thatsright:accessto240collectionsofcomprehensiveandaccessibleessaysonmajor
authors,periodsandgenres,writtenbyexpertsanddesignedforstudentreaders.Thesepithy
essaysareclutchforbeginningaresearchpaperorstudyingforexams.

Audio/Visual
IntroductiontoTheoryofLiterature(2009),PaulH.Fry(videoandaudiolectures)
Thislecturecourse,createdforadvancedundergraduates,isavailableforfreethoughOpen
YaleCourses.Sincethelecturesareavailablefordownload,theyreidealforonthegolistening!
PaulFryusesthechildrensbookTonytheTowTruckasatestcaseforapplyingtheories
groupedintothreebroadcategories:formal,psychological,andsocial.Inabout24hours,the
lecturessurveythefieldfromtwentiethcenturytheorysrootsinthewritingofMarx,Nietzsche
andFreudtopragmatistattacksontheoryinthe1980s1990s.Suchimportantparadigmsas
feminism,gendertheory,criticalracetheory,queertheory,NewHistoricism,postcolonialism,
andpostmodernismareconsidered,thoughlecturesonformalapproaches,including
hermeneutics,Russianformalism,structuralism,anddeconstruction,arewhatmakethis
coursestandout.WhileFrydoesntcoverschoolsofthoughtdevelopedinthepasttenyears,
therangeofapproacheshedoesdiscusslinesupwiththetheoreticalbackgroundofmany
currentliteratureprofessors.Frysclarityandscopemakethisonlinecourseanexcellent
overviewforstudentsnewtotheory,aswellasacomprehensivereviewforthosewithsome
backgroundinthefield.Filmstudentsmightconsiderlookingelsewhere,sinceFryfocuseson
languageandliterarinessratherthanvisualityandmediastudies.