Modern European Criticism And Theory

Modern European Criticism and Theory offers the reader a comprehensive critical overview of the widespread and profound contest of ideas within European 'theory'. The book focuses primarily on the thought of major voices in poetics, philosophy, linguistics, and psychoanalysis, as well as in literary and cultural studies from the Enlightenment to the present day. Examining how conceptions of subjectivity, identity and gender have been questioned, the more than 50 essays written by acknowledged experts in their fields critically assess the ways in which we think, see, and act in the world, as well as the ways in which we represent such thought psychologically, politically, and culturally.A further reading list accompanies each chapter.Key Features* Breadth of coverage from Descartes and Spinoza to Derrida, Lyotard and Zizek; from Phenomenology to French Feminisms and Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism.* Focus on the history of modern criticism.* Accessibly written.* Theoretical debates are set in full historical, cultural and philosophical contexts.

Modern European Criticism and Theory offers the reader a comprehensive critical overview of the widespread and profound contest of ideas within European 'theory'. The book focuses primarily on the thought of major voices in poetics, philosophy, linguistics, and psychoanalysis, as well as in literary and cultural studies from the Enlightenment to the present day. Examining how conceptions of subjectivity, identity and gender have been questioned, the more than 50 essays written by acknowledged experts in their fields critically assess the ways in which we think, see, and act in the world, as well as the ways in which we represent such thought psychologically, politically, and culturally. A further reading list accompanies each chapter.

Critical Theory and Contemporary Europe introduces the major contributions critical theorists made to the study of Europe, from the interwar years to the present time. The work begins with theorists such as Adorno who addressed Nazism and the Holocaust, then moves on to discuss the postwar affluence of capitalist Europe. It proceeds to examine how critical theorists provided much of the analysis that motivated the student and youth movements of 1968 and subsequent alternative social movements. Lastly, it relates the development of a critical theory of state socialism, looking at the works of thinkers such as Arato, Offe, and Habermas and how critical theory is now addressing social issues such as European xenophobia and the future of Europe. This new volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society series brings together critical theory and European studies in a clear, accessible manner and shows the relevance of critical theory to practical political issues.

An authoritative and comprehensive survey of the major themes, thinkers, and movements in modern European intellectual history.

These essays, written in the 1930s and 1940s, represent a first selection in English from the major work of the founder of the famous Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt. Horkheimer's writings are essential to an understanding of the intellectual background of the New Left and the to much current social-philosophical thought, including the work of Herbert Marcuse. Apart from their historical significance and even from their scholarly eminence, these essays contain an immediate relevance only now becoming fully recognized.

Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe considers the various attitudes of European religious and secular writers towards Islam during the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. Examining works from England, France, Italy, the Holy Lands, and Spain, the essays in this volume explore the reactions of Westerners to the culture and religion of Islam. Many of the works studied reveal the hostility toward Islam of Europeans and the creation of negative stereotypes of Muslims by Western writers. These essays also reveal attempts at accommodation and understanding that stand in contrast to the prevailing hostility that existed then and, in some ways, exists still today.

This book is a collection of essays by leading practitioners of modern European intellectual history, reflecting on the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the field. The essays each attempt to assess their respective disciplines, giving an account of their development and theoretical evolution, while also reflecting on current problems, challenges, and possibilities.