This book investigates the role of literary criticism in the process of Irish decolonisation since the late eighteenth century, with special emphasis on the 1950s.

Drawing on the work of both Irish and international commentators - including Edward Said, David Lloyd, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Luke Gibbons - Gerry Smyth seeks to reconfigure the established relations between literature and criticism. Smyth then sets his analysis against a modular theory of decolonisation based on a reading of Irish history from the perspective of contemporary postcolonial and post-structural theory.

Engaging with debates in a number of current fields, Decolonisation and Criticism challenges many assumptions and practices of Irish literary history.

The author's other works include "The Novel and the Nation".

About the Author
Gerry Smyth is a lecturer in cultural history at Liverpool John Moores University, teaching colonialism, post-colonialism and contemporary Irish fiction. He has published on Joyce, Arnold, Irish traditional music, and contemporary Irish cultural criticism.

Reviews
'A valuable and groundbreaking book' -- Irish Literary Supplement



Book Information
ISBN 9780745312279
Author Gerry Smyth
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Pluto Press
Publisher Pluto Press
Weight(grams) 352g