Intro to Major Schools of Critical Theory

What is Critical theory?

What it’s not Telling whether a text is good or bad (like a book review). Just applicable to literature The same thing as critical thinking (although it certainly requires critical thinking)

Definition Critical Theory is. . . According to the dictionary: a philosophical approach to culture, and especially to literature, that seeks to confront the social, historical, and ideological forces and structures that produce and constrain it. Define critical theory in your own words.

Types of critical theory Formalist/New Criticism Historicist Feminist Marxist Queer theory Critical Race theory And many more Types of critical theory

Formalism/new criticism An attempt to view the text as a mechanical system of signs and symbols Does not consider any factors “outside the text.” i.e. historical context, author’s intent, “message” or “moral” to the story. Views literature as language used in “alienating” or “estranging” ways.  Attempts to apply a “scientific” approach to literature. 

Sample questions/critical approaches “how does the text use symbols to generate effects and meaning?” “What does this word choice add to the text that a synonym would not?” “What is the underlying structure of this text?”

Historicist Contrary to formalists, view literature as *exclusively* historical documents. Sees the text as a manifestation of underlying social and historical forces. Uses literary text to examine what was happening in society at the time of the writing. Examines how literature has developed over history.

Example questions. How does this text reveal social tensions and conflicts happening in the real world? What is the author’s view on the controversial issues of the time and why? How was the author influenced by or reacting to authors who came before? How has this text influenced the development of history that came after? Does the text support or criticize the dominant attitudes of the day?

Marxist Focused on examining underlying economic causes for social and historical phenomena. Sees the text as either an encoding of underlying economic and ideological factors or an attempt to subvert the economic system. Views a text “dialectically” “dialectics” being broadly defined as the conflict between opposed ideas that is resolved into a new, third idea. Sees history as a purposeful process that leads to a more perfect society through a dialectical process.

Example questions How does the author portray people of different social classes? What role do class and economic relations play in the text? Does the author accept the underlying economic systems as just or natural, or do they criticize them? How does this text contribute to the development of the historical dialectic? What are some of those “unknown knowns” at work in the text? How do they manifest through characters and other literary devices?

Feminist/Gender/Queer theory Attempts to examine how misogyny and/or patriarchy is embedded into texts. Seeks to liberate women’s voices from historical oppression. Examines how gender is used and expressed in the text. Tries to break down and examine traditional ideas about gender and femininity. Examines how the sexuality of the author might have contributed to factors of the text. Examines which characters may be implicitly coded as queer and why/how.

Example questions How does the author portray female characters? What does this tell us about ideas of gender? What violations and subversions of traditional gender roles are to be found in the text? What things are coded as masculine and what things are coded as feminine? (i.e. why are ships always “she?”) What women authors have been forgotten/ignored due to patriarchal structures in literary studies? What characters are coded as lgbtq+ and how does the text handle them?

Critical Race theory Takes the methods of other schools (Marxist, feminist, queer etc.) and applies them to constructs of race and ethnic identity. Examines how and why race became “a thing” over the course of history. Examines the development of racial discourse over time. Attempts to break down “scientific” and “realist” approaches to race.

Far too many to cover here. And many more

Why do these matter?