The author addresses the influence of poststructuralism on literary studies studies in Britain and America, focusing on the theory of deconstruction as developed by Jacques Derrida. The book redresses common misinterpretations and assesses arguments for the "collapse" of disciplinary boundaries.

The author addresses the influence of poststructuralism on literary studies studies in Britain and America, focusing on the theory of deconstruction as developed by Jacques Derrida. The book redresses common misinterpretations and assesses arguments for the "collapse" of disciplinary boundaries. The first section of the book discusses textual differences and the ways in which these may dissolve and reform according to different cultural contexts. The practical issues associated with teaching literature and literary theory in universities are examined in the second part of the book, while the third highlights some of the more invidious claims of literary theorists and questions the value of metaphysical analysis as a tool for political critique. The book tackles a debate which lies at the heart of humanities teaching. It illuminates the impact on academia of the work of critical theorists since the 1960s, and provides a platform for future reassessment of the relationships between literature, philosophy and theory.

Opposition and difference
mimesis and metafiction
literature and philosophy
literary theory and cultural practice
literary studies and cultural studies
reason and rhetoric
poetics and politics.