Ten Lessons in Theory

<p><b>A thoroughly updated edition of the witty and engaging exploration of the history application and tenets of literary theory.</b> <p/>The first edition of <i>Ten Lessons </i>served as a literary introduction to theoretical writing a strong set of pedagogical prose poems unpacking Lacanian psychoanalysis continental philosophy Marxism cultural studies feminism gender studies and queer theory. Here Calvin Thomas returns to these ten lessons each based on an axiomatic sentence selected from the canons of theory each exploring the basic assumptions and motivations of theoretical writing. But while every lesson explains the working terms and core tenets of theory each also attempts to <i>exemplify </i>theory as a liberatory practice (bell hooks) to liberate theory as a practice of creativity (Foucault) in and of itself. <p/>The revised updated and expanded second edition featuring 25% new material still argues for theoretical writing as a genre of <i>creative</i> writing a way of engaging in the <i>art </i>of the sentence the art of making sentences that make <i>trouble</i> that desire to make radical <i>changes </i>in very fabrication of social reality. <p/>Features: <br>- Critical keywords bolded for easy reference<br>- Expanded footnotes with detailed discussion of key concepts<br>- Anti-racist overhaul of each lesson in the wake of Trumpism Black Lives Matter and #MeToo<br>- Urgent emphasis on Afropessimism critical race theory and other developments in postcolonial Black cultural production<br>- Designed to cross-reference with: <br><i>Adventures in Theory: A Compact Anthology</i> edited by Calvin Thomas<br><i>The Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Theory</i> edited by Jeffrey R. Di Leo<br><i>The Bloomsbury Handbook to 21st Century Feminist Theory</i> edited by Robin Truth Goodman</p>