Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide

The domain of critical theory expresses a normative view of the world, meaning that it argues how things should be rather than “objectively” characterizing the way things are. It uses this “critical” stance as a tool to create a more just world. Literary analysis is one method critical theory uses to advance this goal of social justice. Critical theory holds that our understanding of the world is shaped by the language we use to describe it, with this language promoting different ideologies. By analyzing, critiquing, and advancing the language and ideologies of literary texts, new understandings will be reflected in the world.

This understanding of literary analysis can be found in many of the domains of critical theory covered in Critical Theory Today, particularly in the domains that address the concerns of historically marginalized populations: feminism, queer theory, and African American theory. For instance, feminist critical theory focuses on the way that patriarchal ideology is reflected throughout society, including in literature. French feminist theorists in particular use this understanding of the patriarchy in language and literature as the basis for creating a specifically “feminine” poetics. 

One example is Hélène Cixous’s écriture feminine, “a new, feminine language that undermines or eliminates the patriarchal modes of thinking and writing [that is] fluidly organized and freely associative” (84).