Literary theory

Does fiction enhance reality, or threaten our sense of what is real?

The law holds up a mirror to society and reflects that society and its ongoing preoccupations.

This book explores 'difficult conversations' in feminist theory as an integral part of social and theoretical transformations.

Combining a detailed film analysis with archival research and social science approaches, this book examines how American Graffiti (1973), a low-budget and star-less teen comedy by a filmmaker whose only previous feature had been a box office flop, became one of the highest grossing and most highly acclaimed films of all time in the United States, and one of the key expressions of the nostalgia wave washing over the country in the 1970s.

Combining a detailed film analysis with archival research and social science approaches, this book examines how American Graffiti (1973), a low-budget and star-less teen comedy by a filmmaker whose only previous feature had been a box office flop, became one of the highest grossing and most highly acclaimed films of all time in the United States, and one of the key expressions of the nostalgia wave washing over the country in the 1970s.

The first to focus on the (re-)presentations of oil in dramatic literature, theatre, and performance, Oil and Modern World Dramas is a pioneering volume in the emerging field of Oil Literatures and Cultures, and the more established field of World Literatures.

Emergent Africa (1967) expertly compresses the story of European penetration into the Africa of 1800.

Situated between Europe and Asia, and surrounded by three seas, Turkey comprises a diverse environmental and cultural tapestry.

Sixty years after Understanding Media, Marshall McLuhan remains one of the best known and most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century.

This book examines cultural imaginations post 9/11.

Sixty years after Understanding Media, Marshall McLuhan remains one of the best known and most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century.

This book examines cultural imaginations post 9/11.

This volume examines the crisis of humanities narratives in the context of neoliberal capitalism and of the emergence and consolidation of the metrics-driven, corporate, managerial university.

This book consists of a collection of essays by Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska in their first English translation, and a critical introduction.

Joyce as Theory is the first book-length examination of James Joyce to argue he can be read as a theorist.

Joyce as Theory is the first book-length examination of James Joyce to argue he can be read as a theorist.

Orality, Form, and Lyric Unity examines the poetic works of Michael Donaghy and Don Paterson and their advancement of a poetics of sound and sense.

Orality, Form, and Lyric Unity examines the poetic works of Michael Donaghy and Don Paterson and their advancement of a poetics of sound and sense.

This book identifies water as the key element of Virginia Woolf's modernist poetics.

Erotic Medievalisms is about the liberatory potential of sexualities, particularly as they relate to medieval histories and modern pleasures.

First published in 1992, Authorship and Copyright traces the history of constructions of authorship as a legal reality.

Erotic Medievalisms is about the liberatory potential of sexualities, particularly as they relate to medieval histories and modern pleasures.

Queer Tolstoy is a multidimensional work combining psychoanalysis, political history, LGBTQ+ studies, sexology, ethics, and theology to explore the life and art of Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Queer Tolstoy is a multidimensional work combining psychoanalysis, political history, LGBTQ+ studies, sexology, ethics, and theology to explore the life and art of Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Between Systems and Violence offers a compilation and analysis of state-level statutes targeting intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant and/or refugee (IMR) lives.

Between Systems and Violence offers a compilation and analysis of state-level statutes targeting intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant and/or refugee (IMR) lives.

First published in 1992, Authorship and Copyright traces the history of constructions of authorship as a legal reality.

The book rereads the historiography of the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 documented by Bangladeshi, Indian, and Western historians to trace the position of women who share a negligible place in the gendered war history.

Celebrated as the national poet of Bangladesh and fondly commemorated in India as the 'Rebel Poet', Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 1976) is widely known for his poetry and music, although his political philosophy and anti-colonial revolutionary sentiments are best expressed in his journalistic writings.

Celebrated as the national poet of Bangladesh and fondly commemorated in India as the 'Rebel Poet', Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 1976) is widely known for his poetry and music, although his political philosophy and anti-colonial revolutionary sentiments are best expressed in his journalistic writings.

In these phenomenal essays, 14 scholars take stock of the effects and response to identity, and culture studies within Mizo literary narratives.

In these phenomenal essays, 14 scholars take stock of the effects and response to identity, and culture studies within Mizo literary narratives.

The Mahabharata, one of the most popular epics, has had a remarkable impact on literary and cultural thought in India through the centuries.

Kannagi and Silappatikaram are important parts of the cultural landscape of Tamil Nadu-the story has been told in many genres of literature and continues to be told.

Katty Stewart, Elizabeth (Moosie) White, Walker Ellis and Walter Stauffer were socialites born in New Orleans around the turn of the 20th century.

As one of the foundational texts in the field of postcolonial writing, Barbara Harlow's Resistance Literature introduced new ground in Western literary studies.

This volume is a study of eight major novels from the postwar period (1945-65) in conjunction with the films made from them during a later period of a little less than three decades straddling the millennium (1985-2012).

This volume is a study of eight major novels from the postwar period (1945-65) in conjunction with the films made from them during a later period of a little less than three decades straddling the millennium (1985-2012).

As one of the foundational texts in the field of postcolonial writing, Barbara Harlow's Resistance Literature introduced new ground in Western literary studies.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Each scholar working in the field of Holocaust literature and representation has a story to tell.

Over the past three decades, Jean-Luc Nancy has become one of the most celebrated contemporary philosophers.

Each scholar working in the field of Holocaust literature and representation has a story to tell.

Over the past three decades, Jean-Luc Nancy has become one of the most celebrated contemporary philosophers.

Combining sustained empirical analysis of reading group conversations with four case studies of classic and contemporary novels: Things Fall Apart, White Teeth, Brick Lane and Small Island, this book pursues what can be gained through a comparative approach to reading and readerships.

Idleness, Indolence and Leisure in English Literature is the first study to provide transhistorical perspectives and cutting-edge critical analyses of debates concerning idleness in English literature.