Around 1981: Academic Feminist Literary Theory

"Around 1981" is a lucid and comprehensive history of feminist literary criticism. Jane Gallop structures her inquiry around anthologies of feminist criticism: twelve important texts that have had a wide impact on more than a decade of scholarship. Gallop is one of the strongest writers in the current pantheon of feminist critics: often sharply critical, and sometimes hilariously funny. "Around 1981" addresses French feminism and psychoanalytic feminism as well as the mainstream of American feminist literary criticism. The book illuminates the dilemma of the feminist critic, divided by her allegiance to both feminism and literary studies.