Hegel and the Foundations of Literary Theory
—M.A.R. Habib
Cambridge University Press (2018)
The chapter headings (below) are more intriguing than the publisher's book description:
"Do the various forms of literary theory - deconstruction, Marxism, new historicism, feminism, post-colonialism, and cultural/digital studies - have anything in common? If so, what are the fundamental principles of theory? What is its ideological orientation? Can it still be of use to us in understanding basic intellectual and ethical dilemmas of our time? These questions continue to perplex both students and teachers of literary theory. Habib finds the answers in theory's largely unacknowledged roots in the thought of German philosopher Hegel. Hegel's insights continue to frame the very terms of theory to this day. Habib explains Hegel's complex ideas and how they have percolated through the intellectual history of the last century. This book will interest teachers and students of literature, literary theory and the history of ideas, illuminating how our modern world came into being, and how we can better understand the salient issues of our own time."
Part I - Hegel: The Historical and Philosophical Setting
Chapter 1 - The Hegelian Dialectic
Chapter 2 - Historical Backgrounds
Chapter 3 - Hegel, Philosopher of Capitalism
Chapter 4 - Hegel on Identity and Difference
Chapter 5 - Hegelian Identity and Economics
Part II - Literary Theory: Reading the Dialectic
A. - The Language of Metaphysics
Chapter 6 - Hegel and Deconstruction
Chapter 7 - Hegel on Language
Chapter 8 - Hegel, Language, and Literary Theory
Chapter 9 - Language and the Unconscious
B. - The Politics of Recognition
Chapter 10 - The Master–Slave Dialectic
Chapter 11 - The Master–Slave Dialectic in Literary Theory
C. - Hegel and Marxism
Chapter 12 - Hegel and Marx
Chapter 13 - Hegel and Marxist Literary Theory (I)
Chapter 14 - Hegel and Marxist Literary Theory (II)
D. - Hegel and Gender
Chapter 15 - Hegel on Gender: Antigone
Chapter 16 - Feminists on Hegel and Antigone
Chapter 17 - Historical Contexts of Hegel's Views on Women
Epilogue: The Futures of Theory: Towards a Dialectical Humanism