The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Literary Theory

by Ellen Rooney (Editor)

Feminism has dramatically influenced the way literary texts are read, taught and evaluated. 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 through language. This lively and thought-provoking Companion presents a range of approaches to the field. Some of the essays demonstrate feminist critical principles at work in analysing texts, while others take a step back to trace the development of a particular feminist literary method. The essays draw on a range of primary material from the medieval period to postmodernism and from several countries, disciplines and genres. Each essay suggests further reading to explore this field further. This is the most accessible guide available both for students of literature new to this developing field, and for students of gender studies and readers interested in the interactions of feminism, literary criticism and literature.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Womens, Reference, Essays, Womens Studies

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2006

About the author

I’m an illustrator, designer, and artist. I’m from the state of Massachusetts, but I now live in the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

I love graphic shapes, textured colour, creating an atmosphere, and telling a story with pictures. As a designer, I love finding order and structure in information and making it attractive, clear, and beautiful with images, colors, and typography.

I’m lucky to work with great publishers like Page Street Kids, Orca Book Publishers, Kids Can Press, Sasquatch Books, Owlkids Books, and Candlewick.

Reviews

[Katie Karnehm-Esh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid gender criticism, if slightly in need of an update.

[Foley Stocks]

Decent collection of essays - Rooney's own, ironically, might be the weakest (feeling quite repetitive) but there is plenty of strong stuff: Nickianne Moody's essay on popular culture and Rey Chow's essay on poststructuralism are probably the strongest and most interesting.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

rooney's intro and chapter are awesome. the rest is mixed.

[Apoorva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diverse enough to keep your interest up. And easy to follow too.

[Blossom Kala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these companions - very helpful!