Cultural Politics Aesthetics: Eagleton Critical Theory Research: Eagleton Critical Theory Research

Author: Ma Hailiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Terry Eagleton's cultural political aesthetics can be summarized as:
1. A cultural vision that insists on the interconnectedness and mutual illumination of all levels;
2. The complex relational structure of culture is manifested as a material relationship, with cultural categories remaining a site of intense struggle over interests and power;
3. As a "affective structure" or symbolic system of meaning, culture actively engages with other dimensions of culture, functioning as a "discursive practice";
4. The motivation behind "cultural political criticism" is to transform the entire way of life of society;
5. Cultural political criticism aimed at socialism, due to its clear purpose, possesses a methodologically radical openness and genuine diversity. This book is a specialized monograph in China that systematically studies Eagleton's critical theory. Eagleton is a highly esteemed British contemporary literary critic and cultural theorist. The focus of the book is on the specific analysis and discussion of the basic concepts and categories of Eagleton's critical theory. The author consistently situates this discussion within the development of critical theory, the Marxist aesthetic tradition, and the context of postmodern criticism. The author's analysis of the realistic foundations and academic motivations of Eagleton's theory, as well as his description of Eagleton's style, also contain many insightful points.