Robert Eaglestone is Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
Jonathan Beecher Field is Associate Professor of English at Clemson University, USA.
Clearly focussed on the needs of students, Robert Eaglestone and Jonathan Beecher Field have revised the best-selling Doing English specifically for English literature courses in America.
Studying English presents the ideas and debates that shape literary studies in America today. This overview of the discipline explains not only what students need to know, but how and why English came to be the way it is. This uniquely comprehensive guide to the subject gives students the background they need to understand and enjoy their studies more fully.
The book covers arguments about criticism and theory, value, the canon, Shakespeare, authorial intention, figural language, narrative, writing, identity, politics and the skills that are learned from studying English for the world of work.
In a clear and engaging way, Robert Eaglestone and Jonathan Beecher Field:
- Orient you, by exploring what it is to study English in America now.
- Equip you, by explaining the key ideas and trends in English in context.
- Enable you to begin higher level study.
Acknowledgements
List of figures
A Note for Students
Chapter 1 Studying English
Chapter 2 Where did English come from?
Chapter 3 Studying English Today
Chapter 4 English and `disciplinary consciousness´
Chapter 5 Critical attitudes
Chapter 6 Literature, value and the canon
Chapter 7 Castle Shakespeare
Chapter 8 The author is dead?
Chapter 9 Metaphors and figures of speech
Chapter 10 Narrative and closure
Chapter 11 Creative writing and critical rewriting
Chapter 12 English, identity and politics
Chapter 13 Why study English?
Conclusion
Further Reading
Studying English presents the ideas and debates that shape how we study English today, covering arguments about the value of literature, the canon, Shakespeare, theory, politics and the future of the subject.
'Designed to help the student "think like a critic," Eaglestone and Field's splendid new book Studying English will also help them enjoy the process. Students--and their professors--should celebrate the arrival of a book that will make their lives easier, more efficient, and more productive.' Geoffrey Harpham, Professor of English, Tulane University, USA
