{"product_id":"2026200014546-secondhand-the-function-of-criticism-from-the-spectator-to-post-structuralism","title":"The Function Of Criticism: From The Spectator To Post-Structuralism","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is the purpose of criticism, and has it ever truly fulfilled that purpose? In The Function of Criticism, Terry Eagleton conducts a sweeping historical autopsy of literary criticism as a social institution, tracing its origins from the coffeehouses and periodicals of early eighteenth-century England — epitomised by The Spectator — through to the fragmented, self-referential world of Post-Structuralism. With characteristic precision and polemical vigour, Eagleton argues that criticism was born as a genuinely public, democratic discourse, only to retreat into the ivory towers of academic specialism, severed from any meaningful political or social role.\n\nEagleton's signature style — erudite yet combative, richly allusive yet rigorously analytical — transforms what might seem a narrow academic inquiry into a urgent cultural manifesto. He indicts the modern critical establishment for its loss of public purpose and issues a challenge to reclaim criticism as a form of engaged, collective intellectual practice. The Function of Criticism stands as a landmark text in cultural and literary theory, essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered whether the act of writing about literature can — or should — matter beyond the seminar room.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203119653083,"sku":"2026200014546-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/f00d906c-ed90-4a8c-81d5-5d96b5ba5008.png?v=1788144498","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200014546-secondhand-the-function-of-criticism-from-the-spectator-to-post-structuralism","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}