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...

This reader provides a selection of articles and essays by leading figures in the postmodernism debate.

"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...

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 ...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

From the author/illustrator team behind The Snatchabook comes a music-filled journey to bedtime."Orange moon,blue baboon.Blue baboonspies bassoon."Under an orange moon, Blue Baboon sets out with her bassoon. But there's suddenly a monsoon. Luckily, a big balloon lead her to the dune, where she and her friends can all play in tune!Perfect for bedtime, this playful, rhyming picture b...

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...

Polly and Neil are back in the second gorgeous children's book from Sunday Times bestselling novelist Jenny Colgan. Perfect for reading aloud and including fun activities based on the story.The boat masts jangled louder and louder. Above their heads, black clouds gathered. Polly shivered, and then the rain started to fall: plop, plop, plop.Polly is waiting for something important to happen. But waiting is hard. It's even harder when it's raining and you ca...

**'Charming, comforting and thoughtfully crafted, this is a story that lingers long after the final page.' – Inis MagazineFrom the award‑winning creators of The Hare‑Shaped Hole, It Won’t Be Forever helps young children cope with separation anxiety by showing how love keeps families connected, even when they’re apart.**In the woods there lives a fox family. One of the cubs, Vixie, has a close relationship with her dad, Rey. He makes her feel safe ...