“The “Handbook” and “Companion” markets, in literary studies at least, have been dominated for many years in the UK by the top three university presses – Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. Bloomsbury Academic, however, is set to challenge this triumvirate.” – Times Literary Supplement
Bloomsbury Literary Studies has been working to bring scholars new, cutting-edge reference works in important and developing fields of research. Explore some of our recent and forthcoming handbooks and companions.
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Electronic Literature has been honored with the 2018 N. Katherine Hayles Award for Criticism of Electronic Literature, and has been named a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.
“Tabbi (English, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) has organized his foundational handbook in four parts that provide a needed framework for the work in this field. The first two sections—”Ends, Beginnings,” “Poetics, Polemics”—work their way through the key insights and concepts developed since the inception of the field. The other two sections—”Materialities, Ontologies,” “Economies, Precarities”—provide key essays on how electronic literature’s formats have helped to define contemporary digital life. Including an annotated bibliography of major texts in this field, this is an invaluable resource for those interested in where literature is going. Summing Up: Essential.” – CHOICE
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“A particularly fine collection of essays on a wide range of Bloomsbury activities, enriching our understanding of this eclectic group of individuals and the worlds in which they moved … fascinating.” – Times Literary Supplement
“Bloomsbury is everywhere: books, films, plays, even anime. Indeed, has any other group of friends had a more potent influence on the 20th-century ethos? Ryan (Univ. of Kent, UK) and Ross (Univ. of Victoria, Canada) demonstrate that the influence extends into the 21st century too, in essays covering sexuality, the arts, empire, feminism, philosophy, class, Jewishness, nature, politics, and war. Each essay is followed by a case study. Some essays (those on sexuality, class, the arts, and philosophy) reiterate well-established contentions; others force a new reckoning of the interconnectedness between the members and the pervasiveness, both positive and negative, of the group’s influence. The essays in this latter group are provocative and sometimes antagonistic, so they will be terrifically exciting for Bloomsbury scholars. Most fascinating are the essays devoted to the men of Bloomsbury, who were often relegated to the darkness in relation to Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. This collection reminds one that the reverberations of Bloomsbury are still felt in every aspect of modern society, from the arts (including literature, painting, textiles, pottery, and museum acquisitions) to politics and economics, and even social policy. Summing Up: Essential.” – CHOICE
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“The Bloomsbury Companion to Modernist Literature, edited by Ulrika Maude and Mark Nixon, provides fresh insights. By viewing Modernist Literature through the prism of seemingly unrelated disciplines, such as economics, the Theory of Relativity, and neurology, the Bloomsbury Companion … reveals research synergies and provides opportunities for discovery … While geared towards the more advanced researcher, this book would certainly assist those less familiar with Modernist Literature when taking those first steps from casual readership into research. The Bloomsbury Companion to Modernist Literature makes it new and keeps it real.” – American Reference Books Annual
In this book, leading international scholars survey the major ideas and debates that have made the study of modernist literature one of the most vibrant areas of Literary Studies today. The Bloomsbury Companion to Modernist Literature is a comprehensive reference guide to current research in the field and includes a substantial resources section that provides a practical aid for researchers – keywords, resource guides and an annotated bibliography.
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“This book is an essential reference work on current thought and opinion on this topic, and both faculty and students of cultural and literary theory will enjoy perusal and deep exploration of its contents.” – American Reference Books Annual
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Theory is the most comprehensive available survey of the state of theory in the 21st century. With chapters written by the world’s leading scholars in their field, the book explores the latest thinking in feminist, Marxist, historicist, psychoanalytic and postcolonial criticism and new areas of research in ecocriticism, biopolitics, affect studies, posthumanism, materialism and many other fields.
In addition, the book includes a substantial A to Z of keywords and important thinkers in contemporary theory, making this an essential resource for scholars of literary and cultural theory at all levels.
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The Bloomsbury Handbook of 21st-Century Feminist Theory is the most comprehensive available survey of the state of the art of contemporary feminist thought. With chapters written by world-leading scholars from a range of disciplines, the book explores the latest thinking on key topics in current feminist discourse, including: identity, difference, and intersectionality; affect, sex and the body; writing, reading, genre and critique; power, trauma and value; technology, migration and community.