Awards

• Short-listed for Isaac Deutscher Prize 2019 (UK)
• Winner of CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book Prize 2019 (UK)

Overview

*Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book Prize, 2019* *Shortlisted for the Isaac Deutscher Prize 2019* Why Marxism? Why today? In the first introduction to Marxist literary criticism to be published in decades, Barbara Foley argues that Marxism continues to offer the best framework for exploring the relationship between literature and society. She lays out in clear terms the principal aspects of Marxist methodology - historical materialism, political economy and ideology critique - as well as key debates, among Marxists and non-Marxists alike, about the nature of literature and the goals of literary criticism and pedagogy. Foley examines through the empowering lens of Marxism a wide range of texts: from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice to E. L. James's Fifty Shades of Grey; from Frederick Douglass's 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' to Annie Proulx's 'Brokeback Mountain'; from W.B. Yeats's 'The Second Coming' to Claude McKay's 'If We Must Die'.

Full Product Details

Author:   Barbara Foley
Publisher:   Pluto Press
Imprint:   Pluto Press
Weight:   0.408kg
ISBN:  

9780745338835

ISBN 10:   0745338836
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   20 February 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Prologue PART I: MARXISM 1. Historical Materialism Materialism Production Dialectics Class Base and Superstructure Relative Autonomy Mediation Levels of Generality 2. Political Economy Commodities Commodity Fetishism Labor Power and Exploitation Surplus Value Alienation Capital 3. Ideology Three Definitions of Ideology in Marx Dominant Ideology Relative Autonomy and Mediation Revisited Ideology as Smorgasbord Reification Interpellation Hegemony and Alternative Hegemony PART II: LITERATURE 4. Literature and Literary Criticism Defining Literature Fictionality Density Depth Concreteness and Particularity Showing Not Telling Defamiliarization Universality Empathy Individuality Group Identity Formal Unity Autonomy Beauty Greatness 5. Marxist Literary Criticism Rhetoric and Interpellation Ideology Critique Symptomatic Reading Humanism Realism Proletarian Literature and Alternative Hegemony 6. Marxist Pedagogy Alienation Rebellion Nation War Money Race and Racism Gender and Sexuality Nature Mortality Art Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

'Invigorating and lucid - a fine introduction to Marxism in general and to Marxist literary criticism. Foley has done a superb job writing a book that is useful both for novices and for teachers who wish to show how literature is inescapably connected to the material world' -- Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of 'The Sympathizer' 'Widely surveying contemporary critical theory and practice, Barbara Foley's magisterial book demonstrates the crucial significance of Marxism to our historical moment, and it will be a valuable resource for students, critics, and activists for years to come' -- Robert T. Tally Jr., Texas State University 'Foley deftly sketches the lineaments of traditional Marxism, then some main interests of traditional criticism, and then shows in readings of literary texts what depth of insight comes from conjoining the two traditions. I warmly recommend this book especially for those who want to change the world as well as interpret it' -- Richard Ohmann, Wesleyan University 'This is a book many have longed for. Readers of literature will find Foley's lucid exposition of Marxist criticism an invaluable guide.' -- Rosemary Hennessy, Rice University

'Widely surveying contemporary critical theory and practice, Barbara Foley's magisterial Marxist Literary Criticism Today demonstrates the crucial significance of Marxism to our historical moment, and it will be a valuable resource for students, critics, and activists for years to come' -- Robert T. Tally Jr., Texas State University

'This is a book many have longed for. Readers of literature will find Foley's lucid exposition of Marxist criticism an invaluable guide, even as the book's broad scope speaks to a wide audience. Foley's lessons on the integral connection between theory and practice are grounded in persistent historical problems, bringing home the continuing and urgent relevance of Marxism' -- Rosemary Hennessy, Rice University 'Foley deftly sketches the lineaments of traditional Marxism, then some main interests of traditional criticism, and then shows in readings of literary texts what depth of insight comes from conjoining the two traditions. I warmly recommend this book especially for those who want to change the world as well as interpret it' -- Richard Ohmann, Wesleyan University 'Widely surveying contemporary critical theory and practice, Barbara Foley's magisterial Marxist Literary Criticism Today demonstrates the crucial significance of Marxism to our historical moment, and it will be a valuable resource for students, critics, and activists for years to come' -- Robert T. Tally Jr., Texas State University 'Invigorating and lucid, Marxist Literary Criticism Today is a fine introduction to Marxism in general and to Marxist literary criticism. Foley has done a superb job writing a book that is useful both for novices and for teachers who wish to show how literature is inescapably connected to the material world' -- Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of 'The Sympathizer'

Author Information

Barbara Foley is Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark. She has published widely in the fields of Marxist criticism, US literary radicalism, and African American literature. Her books include Marxist Literary Criticism Today (Pluto, 2019), Wrestling with the Left: The Making of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (Duke University Press, 2010) and Spectres of 1919: Class and Nation in the Making of the New Negro (University of Illinois Press, 2003).

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions