There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of. Research has moved from literary criticism to literary theory, which is not written for ready comprehension. Diane long hoeveler frankenstein, feminism, and literary theory. Feminist theory and research as a scholarship fi eld is nearly beyond a summary chapter like this because women speak with many voices. Feminist literary criticism also known as feminist criticism is the literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory, andor feminist politics. Hugely associated with both queer theory and feminist theory is a woman named judith butler.
The feminist perspective on intimate partner violence is a predominant model in the field, although not immune to criticism. 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. 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. For example, to go along with chapter 7, genre criticism, i have added a section on the modern genre of magic realism.
It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. The second type of feminism, called socialist feminism, is slightly less extreme but still calls for major social change. Rather, there have been evolutions of the different frameworks under the broad heading of feminist theory since the late 1700s. The proponents of each theory believe their theory is the theory, but most of us interpret texts according to the rules of several different theories at a time. This has been difficult because of patriarchy, an ideology in which men are superior to women and have the right to rule women. By the beginning of the 1980s, feminist criticism was becoming more self. And beyond the realm of the personal, feminist theory has literally opened up a whole new world of reading. Apr, 2018 this article will go over four different types of feminist theory, liberal feminism, marxist feminism, radical feminism, and dualsystem feminism. Feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. Another critic might evaluate a poem in terms of its form. The variety of feminisms and their contribution to gender. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction.
This lecture introduces feminist literary criticism by giving a history of feminism and introducing the foundational concepts of feminist theory. 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. It is commonly taken to include both what philosophers call positive and normative claims. By shifting the focus of social theory away from the perspectives and experiences of men, feminist theorists have created social theories that are more inclusive and creative than those that assume the social actor to always be a man. Much of our literature in fact depends upon a series of fixed images of women, stereotypes. Feminist criticism is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of women writers from the traditional literary canon. This school of thought seeks to analyze and describe the ways in which literature portrays the narrative of male domination by. Free lesson plan introducing literary theory a unit wrapup objectives.
Literary theory literary theory is the body of ideas and methods we use in the practical reading of literature. Apr 07, 2015 the most important aspect of this phase is the efforts to understand the evolution of the female literary tradition. In this research, frontline workers in the violence against women. Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Pdf feminist literary criticism is a literary criticism knowledgeable.
It contains links to feminism, marxism, psychoanalysis and queer theory resources. However, it is possible to discuss feminism and do feminist research and theory building because there are common, distinctive elements in the politics of doing research and scholarship that are shared by. Briefly, feminist criticism aims to reinterpret literature from a female point of view. To briefly examine how they differ from one an another, and what they believe to be the barriers to gender equality between men and women. Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the politics of feminism. Literary criticism and theory university of calicut. More challengingly, while some womens movements are distinctly and proudly feminist, others avoid the term even while consciously or unconsciously adopting feminist practices and attitudes, while still more contest its meaning. Maybe you are a feminist, and you didnt even know it.
Critical methodology a feminist literary critic resists traditional assumptions while reading a text. Feminist literary criticism the new york public library. Feminist criticism comes in literary world in many forms and feminist. These reified forms, surprisingly few in number, are repeated over and. Lets cover four of those types now radical feminism, socialist feminism, cultural feminism, and liberal feminism. By his time the glory of athenian art and literature began to fade and was taken. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change the world by prompting gender equality. The powerpoint i have been adding to as i teach lit. What is the feminist approach to literary criticism. 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. There are many different kinds of feminist literary theory. Feminist theory is most often associated with the rights of women. This form of criticism places literature in a social context and employs a broad range of disciplines, such as history, psychology, sociology, and linguistics, to create a perspective that considers feminist issues. It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature.
Identify and summarize the major types of literary theory name and describe the literary theories that focus on the role of the other to unlock this lesson you must be a member. This research guide will assist you in finding sources for feminist literary criticism. You wonder where the women are, and you ask your new boss. I classical age plato plato was the first scholastic philosopher who had given a systematic shape to criticism. Pdf encyclopedia of feminist literary theory souhila. Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of the world. Feminist theory is a similarly broad and contested term.
These types of feminism are not to be confused with the. Introduce the concept of literary theory introduce students to the basic tenets of feminist, marxist, psychological, and mythological literary theory analyze a work read in class using basic questions from a variety of theories time. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction a very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. Feminist criticism tries to correct predominantly maledominated critical perspective with a feminist consciousness. Since the 1970s, feminist scholars have reshaped the. This is the postprint version of the chapter published as feminist legal theory in. I am going to discuss the development of feminist theories as to the sources of gender inequality and its pervasiveness, and the different feminist political solutions and. By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the theories that reveal what literature can mean.
Queer literary theory seeks to undo the dominance of heteronormative thinking or thinking that assumes heterosexuality is the norm and that all other forms of. Pdf feminist engagement with law has taken a variety of forms over the years. Feminist literary criticism and wuthering heights biswanath mahapatra department of english, khatra adibasi mahavidyalaya, khatra, west bengal, india feminist criticism is the most outstanding discovery in the realm of theory as well as in the world of women. As an oppressed group, women have been unable to achieve their potential, receive rewards, or gain full participation in society. See feminist theory it generally refers to theories of womens experience and of the subordination of women by men. The variety of feminisms and their contribution to gender equality introduction my focus is the continuities and discontinuities in recent feminist ideas and perspectives. College, gohana sonepat a type of literary criticism that became a dominant force in western literary studies in the late 1970. Literary theory internet encyclopedia of philosophy. A sampling of critical lenses literary theories were developed as a means to understand the various ways people read texts. While most feminist theorists throughout history have been women, people of all genders can be found working in the discipline today. Some have looked at a story or play from a moral stance, considering how values are represented in a text. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. Showalter suggested that female writers have passed through 3 basic phases, namely the feminine phase, the feminist phase, and the female phase. Feminist literary criticism is the critical analysis of literary works based on the feminist perspective.
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. 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. Read literary criticism of contemporary work and, if at all possible, of poems similar to your own, which will at least help you anticipate the reception likely from editors and workshop presentations. Feminist literary criticism helps us look at literature in a different light. Pdf this book is a collection of eighteen major essays on feminist criticism, which is basically concerned with the literary representations of sexual. Indeed, virtually all dimensions of sociological theory have been reevaluated through the lens of feminist theory. This essay will discuss the major feminist literary inter pretations of the novel, beginning with ellen moerss landmark reading in literary women i and then move to the more recent approaches taken by critics engaged in postcolonial theory, cultural studies, queer theory, and disability studies. Since ancient times, readers have debated and critiqued literature from a variety of perspectives. Some theorists examine the language and symbols that are used and how that language and use of.