Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature. Of course, no list could fully address all of the feminist books out there. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. In the landmark 1991 edition of feminisms, robyn warhol and diane price herndl assembled the most comprehensive collection of american and british feminist literary criticism ever to be published. The cambridge companion to feminist literary theory by ellen. Suffice it to say that feminist theory can be a bit dense for some. Feminist criticism and queer theory chapter 16 a history. Feminist novels and novelists by nasrullah mambrol on march 7, 2019 0.
In particular, feminist literary critics tend to reject the patriarchal norms of literature that privileges masculine ways of thinkingpoints of view and marginalizes women politically, economically and. Feminist novels and novelists literary theory and criticism. Feminism, psychoanalysis and literary interpretation have more in common than their early histories might seem to suggest or promise. Briefly, feminist criticism aims to reinterpret literature from a female point of view. The woman writer and the nineteenthcentury literary imagination by sandra m. Published in 1970, sexual politics was the first academic take on feminist literary criticism. These principles can be broken down into three basic beliefs. Modern feminist literary theory seeks to understand both the literary portrayals and representation of both women and people in the queer community, expanding the role of a variety of identities and analysis within feminist literary criticism. There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of.
It examines womens and mens social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as anthropology and sociology, communication, media studies, psychoanalysis, home economics, literature. Noteworthy feminist writing, from the works of virginia woolf to caitlin moran. Gender studies and queer theory purdue writing lab. Nov 10, 2019 the first fairytales were feminist critiques of patriarchy. Unlike some other kinds of literary criticism cough psychoanalysis cough, feminism doesnt just want to talk about new ways of reading secret phallus symbols into old classics. The handmaids tale by margaret atwood, we should all be feminists by chimamanda ngozi adichie, a room of ones own. Literary theory and criticism english literature, literary theory, linguistics, film theory, media theory, ugc net jrf exam preparation, novel analysis, research papers nasrullah mambrol. No other anthology offers so many bitesized tasters of work on gendered authorship, literary production, critical reception, sexuality and genre from romantic fiction to travel writing. This essay offers a very basic introduction to feminist literary theory, and a compendium of great writers inspire resources that can be approached from a feminist perspective. Patriarchy is a system of social organization that traces descent through the male line and bestows privilege and power to males on the assumption of. Books and magazines are in italics, all other types of literature are not and are in quotation marks.
There are many literary theories, or frameworks, available to address and analyze a given text. A reader is an indispensable guide, companion and handbook for students and teachers of womens literature. Feminist literary criticism recognizes that literature both reflects and shapes stereotypes and other cultural assumptions. Instead, she attempts to make american critical theory more radically political and american feminist. Feminist literary criticism is also about this commitment to equality, to change, and it works its way by arguing that literature is a powerful cultural force that mirrors gender attitudes. A reader constitutes one of the classic texts of secondintothirdwave feminist literary studies. Madsen this book offers an exploration of womens writing that focuses on the close links between literary texts and the theories that construct those texts as womens writing.
Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. It contains links to feminism, marxism, psychoanalysis and queer theory resources. Gilbert and susan gubars newest collaboration, feminist literary theory and criticism. Lawrence, norman mailer, and henry miller, among others. Feminist approaches to literature great writers inspire. This school of thought seeks to analyze and describe the ways in which literature portrays the narrative of male domination by. The danger of the collection, however, is that the admittedly impressive scope of its coverage.
First published in 1986 with a second edition in 1996, feminist literary theory. Key concepts queer theory heterosexual matrix performativity. Feminism has dramatically influenced the way literary texts are read, taught and evaluated. List of books and articles about feminist theory online. It provides suggestions for how material on the great writers inspire site can be used as a starting point for exploration of or classroom discussion about feminist. Broadly, its understood to be concerned with the politics of feminism, and it uses feminist principles to critique the maledominated literature. This widely cited pioneering work presents a new introduction by the editor and a new bibliography of feminist critical theory from the last decade.
First wave feminist criticism includes books like marry ellmans thinking about women 1968 kate millets sexual politics 1969, and germaine greers the female eunuch 1970. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Given the need for such a book, and given that feminist literary criticism is an area that is proliferating with what sometimes seems to be bewildering rapidity and complexity, feminist literary theory provides an invaluable service. Feminist theory is based on the principles and understanding of feminism. Feminist literary criticism the new york public library.
Feminist literary criticism is used to explore the inequalities, social injustices and abusive messages directed toward women within patriarchal societies and cultures. Frankenstein has so overshadowed mary shelleys other books in the popular imagination that many readers believe erroneously that she is a onebook author. Bo oks and magazines are in italics, all other typ es of liter ature are not and are in quotation marks. A norton reader, is the first collection to trace the historical evolution of feminist writing about literature in english from the middle ages to the twentyfirst century. How do the problems of the literary text relate to the priorities and perspectives of feminist politics as a whole.
The cambridge companion to feminist literary theory. With a new afterword in this edition, sexualtextual politics is a mustread for all those interested in feminist literary theory. Not all works in this category follow a direct approach towards this goal of equality. Feminist writing about literature in english from the middle ages to the twentyfirst century. Feminist long fiction features female characters whose quest for selfagency leads to conflict with a traditionally masculinist and patriarchal society. Feminist criticism is a form of literary criticism thats based on feminist theories. Feminist literary criticism also known as feminist criticism is the literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory, andor feminist politics. And beyond the realm of the personal, feminist theory has literally opened up a whole new world of reading.
Patriarchy is a system of social organization that traces descent through the male line and bestows privilege and power to males on the assumption of their physical and intellectual superiority over women. Key concepts hegemonic masculinity patriarchal dividend. Feminist literary criticism, literary theory, books. Each of these intellectual and socially engaged activities is based on premises about text, psyche and culture that undermine familiar or received wisdom. Feminist literary theory so far with regards to the e book we now have sexualtextual politics. A history of feminist literary criticism edited by gill plain. Gilbert is a distinguished literary critic, professor, and poet. This research guide will assist you in finding sources for feminist literary criticism. The first major book of feminist critical theory published in the united states is now available in an expanded second edition. What is the feminist approach to literary criticism.
Critical methodology a feminist literary critic resists traditional assumptions while reading a text. The volume differs both from recentlypublished books that have sought to define and explain feminist literary theory tori. In this revised edition, the editors have updated the volume, in keeping with the expanded parameters of feminist literary discourse. Resources for research literary theories including marxist, feminist, and other critical literary theories. The powerpoint i have been adding to as i teach lit.
Frankenstein, feminism, and literary theory cave ab homine unius libri, as the latin epigram warns us. The following is a list of feminist literature, listed by year of first publication, then within the year. Feminist literary theory has deliberately transgressed traditional boundaries between literature, philosophy and the social sciences in order to understand how gender has been constructed and represented. Feminist literary criticism, literary theory, books barnes.
It is essential reading for all students and scholars of feminist writing and literary criticism. Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of the world. Gilbert, the ivan sandrof lifetime achievement award by the national book critics circle. Gender studies and queer theory explore issues of sexuality, power, and marginalized populations woman as other in literature and culture. What are the political implications of a feminist critical practice. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change the world by prompting gender equality. Gayatri spivak, and caitlin moran work within a feminist framework in poetry, novels, theory, and memoir and engage.
Plus, feminism is more than just an outdated protest or a type of lit theory. Feminism believes that women are, and have always been throughout history, treated differently than men by society, and that women have systematically been prevented from fully participating in all social activities. The book was based on milletts phd dissertation, in which she dissected the work of d. We need to revive their legacy the women who created the first fairytales were far more radical than the brothers grimm have led us to. Rather, there have been evolutions of the different frameworks under the broad heading of feminist theory since the late 1700s. Feminist literary criticism and harry potter haley keller. Exploring the controversial question of feminist criticisms relationship to recent critical theory, elizabeth meese resists the impulse to encompass womens diverse experiences within a single theory. Sexualtextual politics addresses these fundamental questions and examines the strengths and limitations of the two main strands in feminist criticism, the angloamerican and the french, paying.
The book serves as a text for courses in family sociology, sociology of gender, gender studies, and feminist theory, and for sociology courses focusing on the use of qualitative methodology. Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the politics of feminism. From this point, feminist literary theory and criticism started to develop its proper ideas propagated by various feminist critics from around the world. Feminist literary criticism also known as feminist criticism is the literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism. How to use feminist literary criticism pen and the pad. Thats why beloved feminist author and cultural critic bell hooks set out in 2000 to create an educational text for those.
Some feminist critics seek to interpret the works of male authors, with particular attention to women characters, in order to explore the moral, political and social restrictions. The following is a list of feminist literatu re, listed by year of first publication, then within the year alphabetically by title using the english title rather than the foreign language title if availableapplicabl e. An example of first wave feminist literary analysis would be a critique of william shakespeares taming of the shrew for petruchios abuse of katherina. Socialist feminist theory, program and organizational structure, by radical women 1967. In this authoritative history of feminist literary criticism, leading scholars chart the development of the practice from the middle ages to the present. Both a history and a survey of the varied positions within feminist literary theory, the reader includes extracts from all the major critics. The quintessential text of second wave feminism, friedan s 1963 book became one of the original pieces of feminist theory to become a mainstream hit. Feminist criticisms roots are in womens social, political, economic and psychological oppression.
It was this wave of feminism, where feminist literary criticism first emerged as a highly radical and effective form of literary criticism. Feminist literature is based on the principles of feminism and includes all literary works centering on a womans struggle for equality and to be accepted as a human being, before becoming a victim of gender stereotypes. Jul 26, 2016 im posting some of the papers from my senior portfolio. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its. Information on feminist literary criticism and theory, including autobiography, autography, autofiction, crime novels, detective stories, drama, theatre, plays.
Apr 17, 2017 feminist literary criticism is used to explore the inequalities, social injustices and abusive messages directed toward women within patriarchal societies and cultures. In the late 1990s, several critics took the opportunity to reflect on the relations between feminism, lesbian studies and queer theory. Mar 07, 2019 home feminism feminist novels and novelists. This is a paper that i wrote for my british literature class during the fall of my junior year. Since we would ideally take that class before literary criticism, we studied different literary theories in less detail to prepare us. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. List of books and articles about feminist literature online. Since the 1970s, feminist scholars have reshaped the. Virginia woolf is rightly considered the founder of modern feminist literary criticism. Discover the best feminist literary criticism in best sellers. The quintessential text of second wave feminism, friedan s 1963 book became one of the original pieces of feminist theory to become a.
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. Top ten most influential feminist books infoplease. Feminist literary theory suggestions people are yet to yet eventually left the writeup on the game, or otherwise read it but. The woman writer and the nineteenthcentury literary imagination paperback. Feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. Feminist literature feminist literature feminist literature is based on the principles of feminism and includes all literary works centering on a womans struggle for equality and to be accepted as a human being, before becoming a victim of gender stereotypes. Much of the work in gender studies and queer theory, while influenced by feminist criticism, emerges from poststructural interest in fragmented, decentered knowledge building nietzsche, derrida. Mary eagleton is the author of feminist literary theory 3. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Feminism has transformed the academic study of literature, fundamentally altering the canon of what is taught and setting new agendas for literary analysis. The 10 best literary theory and criticism books of 2020. Sexualtextual politics addresses these fundamental questions and examines the strengths and limitations of the two main strands in feminist criticism, the angloamerican and the french. Thus, feminist literary criticism examines how works of literature embody patriarchal attitudes or undercut them, sometimes both happening within the same work. A spate of articles and edited volumes discussed the conflicts and tensions between these fields.
The following is a list of feminist literature, listed by year of first publication, then within the year alphabetically by title using the english title rather than the foreign language title if availableapplicable. As an oppressed group, women have been unable to achieve their potential, receive rewards, or gain full participation in society. Its got all kinds of tools to help us understand why gender matters in the books we read, the movies we watch, and the marketing campaigns we see around us every day. Queer theory, a recent addition to the field, looks at literature through the prism of sex, gender, and identity. Feminist criticism is concerned with the ways in which literature and other cultural. This book offers a comprehensive guide to the history and development of feminist literary criticism and a lively reassessment of the main issues and authors in the field. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not.
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