Complicity argues that all existing modes of cultural critique are regarded as legitimate and productive if and only if they are complicit with the very ideologies and values that the criticism sets out to undermine. Through philosophical, literary and theoretical analysis, Thomas Docherty shows how easy it has been for criticism to become essentially an act of political collaboration with existing governmental power.The book explores the various ways in which, both historically an...

Contemporary criticism of Donne has tended to ignore the historical culture and ideology that conditioned his writings, reinforcing the traditionally accepted model of the poet as a humanist of ethical, cultural and political individualism. In this title, first published in 1986, Thomas Docherty challenges this with a more rigorously theoretical reading of Donne, particularly in relation to the specific culture of the late Renaissance in Europe. Docherty locates Donne’s poetry at the crux ...

"Docherty is not only is a brilliant critic of those forces that would like to transform higher education into an extension of the market-place... he is also a man of great moral and civic courage, who under intense pressure from the punishing neoliberal state has risked a great deal to remind us that higher education is a civic institution crucial to creating the formative cultures necessary for a democracy to survive, if not flourish."- Henry Giroux, McMasters Universi...

The university is under threat. For forty years this indispensable democratic institution has been systematically betrayed by governments and the political class, who have redirected it from its proper social and cultural functions through a relentless programme of financialisation. Taking his cue from Julien Benda’s classic polemical essay of 1927, Thomas Docherty exposes the forces behind modern university ‘reform’. He demonstrates that the sector has been politicised and now works expli...

What is the value of literature?In this important new work, Thomas Docherty charts a new economic history of literary culture and its institutions in the modern age. From the literary patronage of the early modern period, through the colonial exploitation of the 18th and 19th centuries to the institutionalisation of “literature” in the neoliberal university of the 21st century, Literature and Capital explores the changing ways in which literary culture has both re...

Exploring the controversial history of an aesthetic – realism – this book examines the role that realism plays in the negotiation of social, political, and material realities from the mid-19th century to the present day.Examining a broad range of literary texts from French, English, Italian, German, and Russian writers, this book provides new insights into how realism engages with themes including capital, social decorum, the law and its politicisation, modern science as a determin...

From post-truth politics to “no-platforming” on university campuses, the English language has been both a potent weapon and a crucial battlefield for our divided politics. In this important and wide-ranging intervention, Thomas Docherty explores the politics of the English language, its implication in the dynamics of political power and the spaces it offers for dissent and resistance. From the authorised English of the King James Bible to the colonial project of University English Studies,...

This practical and highly relevant book brings a needed breeze of fresh air in crisis management. Based on his personal experiences managing complex crises globally, Thomas Lahnthaler presents a human-centric approach to managing crises. Taking a starting point in captivating anecdotes from his work in humanitarian crisis management, Lahnthaler explores different relevant angles when faced with seemingly overwhelming contexts that constantly create new challenges and increase in complexity...

A charming Christmas story for the whole family about a cat who is up to no good!It's Christmas, and Jingles the kitten has knocked over the Christmas tree and unwrapped all of the presents! What a naughty kitty. When Jingles eats the entire Christmas turkey, it's the final straw! Jingles is in big trouble now. While his family is busy cleaning up the mess, a guilty Jingles disappears. Realizing what matters most, the family sets out to look for their naughty kitte...

From the author/illustrator team behind The Snatchabook comes a book-filled adventure on the high seas!Nell is finally a pirate!And she has her trusty Pirate's Almanac to help her sail the seas, even if Captain Gnash doesn't like books on his ship. But when the journey gets rough and the captain is in trouble, it's Nell and all her pirate knowledge that saves the day and leads them to the greatest buried treasure of all…

Meet Polly and her puffin Neil in the debut children's book from Sunday Times bestselling novelist, Jenny Colgan. Illustrated throughout and with recipes, activities and rhymes in addition to the irresistible story.Polly heard a CRASH downstairs. Was it a monster? NO! Was it a spider alien? NO!It was a little puffin with a broken wing...When Polly discovers an injured puffin, she and her mummy look after him in their cottage by the sea....

The fourth children's book featuring Polly and her puffin Neil, from bestselling adult novelist Jenny Colgan. With gorgeous two-colour illustrations throughout, Polly is perfect for reading aloud - especially at Christmas!Polly and her puffin friend Neil have wrapped presents, practised for the village nativity and written their lists for Santa. But Christmas is taking a very long time to arrive. And Polly isn't enjoying the wait.What's worse, Neil...