Accessing the huge and often bewildering subject of Critical Theory can be an intimidating experience. This acclaimed dictionary provides the ideal introduction to the range of theories and theorists on offer and will prove an invaluable and authoritative resource to all students. * Incisive overviews of the work of key figures from Arendt and Artaud to Winnicott, Wittgestein and Woolf * Powerful summaries of the crucial debates on desire and deconstruction, object relations and Orientalism, postcolonial theory and postmodernism * Clear explanations of both the links and the disagreements between different thinkers and schools.

Now thoroughly updated and revised, this new edition of the highly acclaimed dictionary provides an authoritative and accessible guide to modern ideas in the broad interdisciplinary fields of cultural and critical theory Updated to feature over 40 new entries including pieces on Alain Badiou, Ecocriticism, Comparative Racialization , Ordinary Language Philosophy and Criticism, and Graphic Narrative Includes reflective, broad-ranging articles from leading theorists including Julia Kristeva, Stanley Cavell, and Simon Critchley Features a fully updated bibliography Wide-ranging content makes this an invaluable dictionary for students of a diverse range of disciplines

This Dictionary lays out the major theoretical approaches deployed in the study of the moving image as well as defining key theoretical terms. Contextual entries range from 500 to 3,000 words.

With over 750 authoritative entries covering all areas of critical theory, this dictionary is an essential reference work for anyone needing a clear guide to theory, from feminism to globalization, from Marxism to psychoanalysis. This edition is fully up to date and thoroughly comprehensive.

Dictionary of Critical Realism fulfils a vital gap in the literature, Critical Realism is often criticised for being too opaque and deploying too much jargon, thereby making the concepts inaccessible for a wider audience. However, as Hartwig puts it 'Just as the tools of the various skilled trades need to be precision-engineered for specific, interrelated functions, so meta-theory requires concepts honed for specific interrelated tasks: it is impossible to think creatively at that level without them.' This Dictionary seeks to redress this problem; to throw open the important contribution of Critical Realism to a wider audience for the first time, by thoroughly explaining all the key concepts and key developments. It includes 500 entries on these themes, and has contributions from major players in field. However this text does not stop there, it goes further than simply elucidating the concepts and includes a number of essays which use the notions in important areas, thereby demonstrating the appropriate use of the concepts in action to encourage their wider use. This book will become a requisite reference tool for Critical Realist scholars and Philosophers and Social scientists alike will enjoy this vital introduction and explanatory text of the indispensable ideas contained within the dynamic and vibrant school of Critical Realism.

This book is a teaching dictionary with the goal of de-mystifying current social science theory in a comprehensive, accessible format. It focuses on important terminology in progressive, radical, critical Marxist, feminist, left-liberal, postmodern, and semiotic contexts.

Critical Theory: The Key Concepts introduces over 300 widely-used terms, categories and ideas drawing upon well-established approaches like new historicism, postmodernism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, and narratology as well as many new critical theories of the last twenty years such as Actor-Network Theory, Global Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Speculative Realism. This book explains the key concepts at the heart of a wide range of influential theorists from Agamben to Žižek. Entries range from concise definitions to longer more explanatory essays and include terms such as: Aesthetics Desire Dissensus Dromocracy Hegemony Ideology Intersectionality Late Capitalism Performativity Race Suture Featuring cross-referencing throughout, a substantial bibliography and index, Critical Theory: The Key Concepts is an accessible and easy-to-use guide. This book is an invaluable introduction covering a wide range of subjects for anyone who is studying or has an interest in critical theory (past and present).

Now in a fully updated second edition The Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory is an indispensible guide for anyone approaching the field for the first time. Exploring ideas from a diverse range of disciplines through a series of 11 critical essays and a dictionary of key names and terms, this book examines some of the most complex and fundamental theories in modern scholarship including: Marxism Trauma Theory Ecocriticism Psychoanalysis Feminism Posthumanism Gender and Queer Theory Structuralism Narrative Postcolonialism Deconstruction Postmodernism With three new essays, an updated introduction, further reading and a wealth of new dictionary entries, this text is an indispensible guide for all students of the theoretically informed arts, humanities and social sciences.

This outstanding anthology traces major critical statements from classic theorists like Plato to the contemporary. This standard historical textbook in the field focuses on important individual thinkers, and not particular schools of thought or isms. Current selections bring the anthology into contemporary times and show students how critical theory has evolved and progressed over time.

This book, first published in 1987, differs from many other ‘dictionaries of criticism’ in concentrating less on time-honoured rhetorical terms and more on conceptually flexible, powerful terms. Each entry consists of not simply a dictionary definition but an essay exploring the history and full significance of the term, and its possibilities in critical discourse. This title is an ideal basic reference text for literature students of all levels.