Literary Aesthetics : A reader

The readings in this anthology reach back to classical sources of philosophical aesrhetics and forward to the most current accounts of the utility or value of the literary artwork in postmodern culture. The organization of the text is designed to engage the reader in the shaping debates of literary aesthetic theory and demonstrate their continuing relevance for our understanding of the ways literature sustains and critiques culture. Contents: 1. Community, Culture, Politics; 2. Beauty and sublimity;3. Truth, value, Ethics; 4. Literary Formalism; 5. Agency, Expression; 6. Gender; 7. Aesthetic/Anti-Aesthetic: Contemporary debates