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Introduction

• This non-fiction and quasi-historical text provides an introduction to more than a dozen literary and cultural theories, from liberal humanism to twentieth-century ecocriticism. The author is an English Professor at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, Wales, UK where he teaches several theory courses.
• Literary theory became fashionable and controversial in the 1980s and remained so until the 1990s when it became a standard course in school curriculum.
• Theory was formulated on twelve straightforward ideas that are not difficult or complex. The writing was frequently in French with a poorly translated English version. Understanding requires patience, intellectual confidence, and ability to use the information presented.

Theory before theory - liberal humanism

• By 1828 English became an academic subject, and in 1829 the first professor of English was appointed. English teaching was proposed at first to maintain political status and substitute for religion.
• Aristotle was the first critic, using a...

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