The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory

This is an essential resource for anyone having to discuss critical theory who has a finite amount of attention for the topic and/or lacks a basic undergraduate collegiate experience within philosophy. Concise, easy to understand definitions and a boatload of cross-referencing makes keeping unfamiliar terms clear and leads to free-association between other concepts. The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory did more to help me retain and build upon the discourse within my graduate-level critical theory lectures than most of the assigned lecture readings. I am a far more competent reader and writer within that mode of communication for it.

I bought this book for my graduate-level course at college named Practical Criticism (renamed to Critical Theory this year actually) and it has been so useful. It has everything in it! Or almost. i could just sit down and read some of the things in this book just for fun. It is fascinating stuff. Purchase this book now! Used or New. W/e is cheaper.

The entries in this dictionary are great and informative, but it just seems like it could have had even more in it (plus, there are a few entries that probably didn't need to be in there such as Karl Popper, a great philosopher of science and all, but how much does he really affect critical theory?). Still, the smaller size does make it even more portable, which is kind of a plus, and for the amount of information that is in here it's totally worth the price.

A must have for critical thinkers!!

Excellent book

GREAT

For anyone interested in recent intellectual traditions Macey's book is worth keeping on the desktop. Spare minutes can profitably be spent browsing, or the history of a particular line of thought can be traced through multiple entries. Clearly written and wonderfully informative.

Returned it b/c I dropped the class

This is an exciting, intellectually stimulating and comprehensive A-Z guide to critical theory. This 2001 edition has wide-ranging entries including overviews of the work of key theorists such as Antonio Gramsci, Stuart Hall, Judith Butler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault & Edward Said. There are also lucid summaries of deconstruction, postmodernism, Orientalism, hermeneutics, Marxism and many more. David Macey's 'Dictionary of Critical Theory' explains complex ideas in an accessible and engaging way. Although an updated edition is needed, this dictionary is still highly recommended to humanities and social science students requiring knowledge of theory and also the general reader curious about an often abstruse and controversial field.

Important book

I bought this book for a theory class I was taken and was hoping to be able to reference from it. Unfortunately, the quantity of definitions outweighed their quality.

A comprehensive critical theory dictionary. Very useful reference book for art, film, and literature students and professors. Will give you the whole picture of contemporary critical thinking.

I initially found this book at my university library - and used it for several essays . I refer to it in all my academic writings now . It is simple clear and concise and quite comprehensive. Before i set out writting and essay i use this book to gather ideas . Essential for any arts / photography student