Critical Assumptions (SIGNED)
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Signed with inscription
What does it truly mean to engage with a literary text — and what invisible assumptions govern every act of reading, interpretation, and criticism? Critical Assumptions by K. K. Ruthven, Professor of English at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, is a rigorous and illuminating work that interrogates the foundational premises underpinning literary criticism itself. Ruthven systematically uncovers the taken-for-granted beliefs that critics bring to their work, presenting a sophisticated anatomy of the discipline that challenges scholars and students alike to examine the intellectual scaffolding behind their own judgements. Written with clarity, precision, and a wry academic confidence, this work argues that no act of criticism is ever truly neutral — each carries with it a freight of cultural, philosophical, and ideological presuppositions. Ruthven's style is both instructive and provocative, drawing on a wide range of critical traditions to illustrate how assumptions shape meaning long before a reader ever reaches the text. Published by the prestigious Cambridge University Press, Critical Assumptions remains an essential touchstone for anyone serious about the theory and practice of literary study — leaving the reader to wonder just how much of what they know about literature they have simply assumed.
Author: K. K. Ruthven
Format: Hardback
Published: 1979, Cambridge University Press
Genre: Literary theory
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Signed with inscription
What does it truly mean to engage with a literary text — and what invisible assumptions govern every act of reading, interpretation, and criticism? Critical Assumptions by K. K. Ruthven, Professor of English at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, is a rigorous and illuminating work that interrogates the foundational premises underpinning literary criticism itself. Ruthven systematically uncovers the taken-for-granted beliefs that critics bring to their work, presenting a sophisticated anatomy of the discipline that challenges scholars and students alike to examine the intellectual scaffolding behind their own judgements. Written with clarity, precision, and a wry academic confidence, this work argues that no act of criticism is ever truly neutral — each carries with it a freight of cultural, philosophical, and ideological presuppositions. Ruthven's style is both instructive and provocative, drawing on a wide range of critical traditions to illustrate how assumptions shape meaning long before a reader ever reaches the text. Published by the prestigious Cambridge University Press, Critical Assumptions remains an essential touchstone for anyone serious about the theory and practice of literary study — leaving the reader to wonder just how much of what they know about literature they have simply assumed.