Language: English
Author: Sapna Dudeja
Description: This collection is designed for the Discipline Specific Elective Paper Literary Criticism and Theory II for B.A. (Hons.) English Semester VI students of the University of Delhi, as well as for theory enthusiasts across departments and universities. It provides commentary on seminal texts by major theorists, including Gramsci (The Formation of the Intellectuals; Hegemony and Separation of Powers), Lukács (The Phenomenon of Reification), Althusser (Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses), Lévi-Strauss (The Science of the Concrete), Derrida (Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences), Foucault (The Order of Discourse), Freud (The Uncanny), Lacan (The Mirror Stage), Kristeva (The Semiotic Chora: Ordering the Drives; The Thetic: Rupture and/or Boundary), Irigaray (This Sex Which Is Not One; Commodities among Themselves), Butler (Preface, 1990; Women as the Subject of Feminism; Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions), Scott (Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis), Adorno (The Schema of Mass Culture), Bhabha (How Newness Enters the World), and Jameson (Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism), introducing readers to the dynamic world of theory. The conclusion highlights emerging directions in contemporary theory, while the appendix, listing expected questions from each unit, serves as a valuable tool for end-semester exam preparation. In an age where discourse ‘on’ theory proliferates faster than theory itself, this collection aims to cultivate a discerning attitude, helping readers distinguish between misinformation and knowledge and guiding them on an essential and rewarding journey toward a deep understanding of theoretical concepts.