Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or by the politics of feminism more broadly. Its history has been broad and varied, from classic works of nineteenth-century women authors such as George Eliot and Margaret Fuller to cutting-edge theoretical work in women's studies and gender studies by "third-wave" authors. In the most general and simple terms, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s -- in the first and second waves of feminism -- was concerned with the politics of women's authorship and the representation of women's condition within literature. Since the arrival of more complex conceptions of gender and subjectivity and third-wave feminism, feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, as part of the deconstruction of existing relations of power, and as a concrete political investment.^[1] It has been closely associated with the birth and growth of queer studies. And the more traditionally central feminist concern with the representation and politics of women's lives has continued to play an active role in criticism. Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical, ground. ... Feminists redirects here. ... Mary Ann (Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. ... Margaret Fuller, by Marchioness Ossoli. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Gender studies is a theoretical work in the social sciences or humanities that focuses on issues of sex and gender in language and society, and often addresses related issues including racial and ethnic oppression, postcolonial societies, and globalization. ... Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study beginning in the early 1990s. ... First-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. ... Second-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the late 1980s. ... Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study beginning in the early 1990s. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan (French pronounced ) (April 13, 1901 – September 9, 1981) was a French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and doctor, who made prominent contributions to the psychoanalytic movement. ... Today psychoanalysis comprises several interlocking theories concerning the functioning of the mind. ... Deconstruction is a term in contemporary philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, denoting a process by which the texts and languages of Western philosophy (in particular) appear to shift and complicate in meaning when read in light of the assumptions and absences they reveal within themselves. ... Queer studies is the study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. ...

Lisa Tuttle has defined feminist theory as asking "new questions of old texts."{Lisa Tuttle} She cites the goals of feminist criticism as: (1) To develop and uncover a female tradition of writing, (2) to interpret symbolism of women's writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by the male point of view, (3) to rediscover old texts, (4) to analyze women writers and their writings from a female perspective, (5) to resist sexism in literature, and (6) to increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style.

See also

• Feminist film theory
• Feminist theory
• Literary criticism
• Women's writing in English

Feminist film theory is theoretical work within film criticism that is derived from feminist politics and feminist theory. ... Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical, ground. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759-1797 Womens writing as a discrete area of literary studies is based on the notion that the experience of women, historically, has been shaped by their gender, and so women writers by definition are a group worthy of separate study. ...

External links

• The "Feminist Theory and Criticism" article series from the Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism:
  • 1963-1972
  • Anglo-American Feminisms
  • Poststructuralist Feminisms
  • Materialist Feminisms

References

Further reading

• Judith Butler. Gender Trouble. ISBN 0-415-92499-5.
• Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. ISBN 0-300-08458-7.
• Toril Moi. Sexual/Textual Politics: Feminist Literary Theory. ISBN 0-415-02974-0; ISBN 0-415-28012-5 (second edition).
• Rita Felski, "Literature After Feminism" ISBN 0-226-24115-7
• Annette Kolodny. "Dancing through the Minefield: Some Observations on the Theory, Practice, and Politics of a Feminist Literary Criticism."