Rita Felski

Uses of Literature bridges the gap between literary theory and common-sense beliefs about why we read literature. Explores the diverse motives and mysteries of why we read: Offers four different ways of thinking about why we read literature - for recognition, enchantment, knowledge, and shock. Argues for a new "phenomenology" in literary studies that incorporates the historical and social dimensions...

How does a novel entice or enlist us? How does a song surprise or seduce us? Why do we bristle when a friend belittles a book we love, or fall into a funk when a favoured TV series comes to an end? What characterises the aesthetic experiences of feeling captivated by works of art? In Hooked, Rita Felski challenges the...

Why must critics unmask and demystify literary works? Why do they believe that language is always withholding some truth, that the critic’s task is to reveal the unsaid or repressed? In this book, Rita Felski examines critique, the dominant form of interpretation in literary studies, and situates it as but one method among many, a method with strong allure—but also...