truepenny | Review: Tyson, Using Critical Theory

Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write about Literature by Lois Tyson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(3rd edition)
This is a textbook. It teaches the basics of writing papers using critical theories (New Criticism, feminism, postcolonialism, Marxism, etc.) It's clearly written and laid out, and it boils down the process of writing an English paper into a series of very simple steps. It also defangs the most common student questions (E.g. My interpretation is my opinion, so how can it be wrong?) and I think provides a pretty good understanding of what it is you're being asked to do when you write an English paper. I disagree with it in places (she does not do a good job of explaining the concept of "othering" and I think misuses it), but overall, yes, this would have been super helpful to have when I was teaching intro lit courses.

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