Description: The most exhaustive mapping of contemporary literary theory to date, this book offers a comprehensive introduction and overview of the current state of the field of contemporary literary theory.
Brief description: Jeffrey R. Di Leo is Distinguished Professor of English and Philosophy at Texas A&M University-Victoria, USA. He is editor and founder of the critical theory journal symploke, editor-in-chief of American Book Review, and Executive Director of the Society for Critical Exchange and its Winter Theory Institute. He is author, editor, or co-editor of 40 books. His recent books include Happiness (2022), Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory: An Overview (2023), and Out of Print (2024).
Review Quotes:
"In its scope and ambition, this is a groundbreaking and authoritative reference work that will both define the field and provide an enduring point of orientation. Rich and always accessible, it is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in the study of contemporary literary theory." --Allan Kilner-Johnson, Associate Professor in English Literature, University of Surrey, UK
"Unlike other mechanistic or "how-to" guides, Di Leo's Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory is an ambitious and rigorous survey of theory from its ancient origins to the present that will be valuable for scholars seeking to understand new directions in (and against) theory as well as students encountering theoretical questions for the first time. Through careful explication and key quotations from primary texts, Di Leo nicely balances the need to provide both an informative-and, at times, reflective-discussion of High Theory, and a precise summary of those areas of theory such as LGBTQ+, Race and Justice, Biopolitics, and Ecocriticism that are most pressing for the field today." --Michael Malouf, George Mason University, USA "The scope of Di Leo's book is vast and the depth of his knowledge profound. His critical argument is always lucid and engaging. The book achieves what Di Leo set out to do: provide a useful and illuminating map of the city of literary theory and cultural studies." --Journal of Literary Studies/Tydskrif vir Literatuurwetenskap "This book will thus be an essential guidebook and resource for the novice; a rigorous work of scholarship for the seasoned critic; a persuasive challenge to the skeptic; and, finally, it will provide motivation to those wearied humanists who need to replenish their source of inspiration." --The Comparatist