Product Description

Dealing with exciting new ideas and contentious debates that make up English today, this volume is an essential purchase for those students embarking on English at degree level.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #231002 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 184 pages

Review
'Excellent: a thought-provoking and accessible argument exploring the changing character of English Literature as it has developed outside the school curriculum over the last half century.' - The English and Media Magazine

'Exactly what students need.' - Times Education Supplement

From the Author
Why I wrote it: why the Slovakian reviewer didn't like it
I wrote Doing English after a great deal of experience teaching undergraduates and A-level students English. I wanted to explain the changing nature of the subject in the UK because English has changed enormously over the last 20 years or so. At A-level, this is reflected in the new Assessment Objectives that all students must fulfil. At University level, these changes are often reflected by an ever increasing range of approaches to literature. I wanted to explain what you might expect English to be, and, more importantly, why it was like that.

I am not surprised by the review from Slovakia. One of the odd things about English and the study of literature in general - unlike many science subjects - is that it is done very, very differently in different countries. (For example, only English Language students study the 'History of the Language' in the UK: in Slovakia, it is a large part of the curriculum for all English Students. I don't discuss it, so no wonder the Slovakian reader didn't find it, and was, consequently, disappointed). I wrote this book for British A-level and Undergraduate students of English. If you are one, you won't be disappointed. If you are not (if you want a book about linguistics, say, or learning how to speak English), you will be.

From the Back Cover
Aimed at students in the final year of secondary education or beginning degrees, this immensely readable book provides the ideal introduction to studying English literature. The book will:
* orientate you, by explaining what you are doing when you 'do English' * equip you for future study, by introducing current ideas literature, context and interpretation * enable you to bridge the gap between 'traditional' and 'theoretical' approaches to literature, showing why English has had to change and what those changes mean for you.
Doing English deals with the exciting new ideas and contentious debates that make up English today, covering a broad range of issues from the history of literary studies and the canon to Shakespeare, politics and the future of English. The second edition has been revised throughout and includes a new chapter on narrative. Robert Eaglestone's refreshingly clear explanations and advice make this volume essential reading for all those planning to 'do English' at advanced or degree level.

Customer Reviews

A Friendly Introduction To New Approaches
'Doing English' serves excellently as an introductory guide to the attitudes and debates which literary theory has placed on to the agenda of English Studies, at university and now sixth-form levels. It is easy-to-read, lively, stimulating and clear, revealing theory to be far more pertinent and less arcane than it often seems in raw form. The issues Eaglestone discusses are now central concerns of the discipline, for better or worse, so students will need to be acquainted with them, and Eaglestone presents them in an unusually friendly, accessible form. For some undergraduates this introduction will be too basic, but for most it will be very useful.

Yet there are limitations: Eaglestone is clearly an advocate of the new approaches he describes, which means that he does not present a balanced view of the debates, but presents simplified versions of 'traditionalist' arguments as naive and outmoded. Readers should be warned not to take his dismissals as the final word. The book would perhaps be better entitled 'Doing Literary Theory', to avoid giving the impression that English departments no longer engage with 'canonical texts' on respectful terms, only with a deconstuctive eye. Fortunately, at most universities this is not the case, whatever Eaglestone might wish. So don't worry if you prefer the literary classics to postmodern philosophy, you can still enjoy studying English. But if you are uncomfortable with new approaches and yet are willing to give them a chance, this book is for you.

An excellent book for the audience it caters for.
I read Eaglestones' book as a mature student about to embark on an English degree. It taught me a lot about the origins of studying English (did you know that it had roots in the East India Company?)as well as introducing me to different critical approaches.For the right audience, this book is excellent.

One of the worst books ever written
I'm not sure at whom this book was aimed, but it seems people with even halfway developed critical faculties were not considered. Mindlessly trite, poorly expressed and deliberately infuriating jargon fills the pages. This was recommended for a PGCE course: read it only if you're considering dropping out and need confirmation of why you don't like English. If you do love the subject and want to see it dealt with in an intellectually honest, thoughtful and sensible way, don't go anywhere near this book.