The author's intention

"At the start of the twenty-first century literary theorists find themselves reflecting on their discipline. Since at least 1969, the humanities and social sciences have seen the rise of Marxist critical theory, Foucault (or discourse and the new historicism), various schools of American and European cultural studies, deconstruction, and poststructuralism. One of the major coups of the past thirty years, from which all of the previously mentioned theoretical camps benefited, was the attack on and subsequent death of authorial intentionality. In The Author's Intention coauthors Jeff Mitscherling, Tanya DiTommaso, and Aref Nayed divert the current philosophical misrepresentation of authorial intention. Implicitly challenging a second-generation theoretical approach to literature that dismisses the possibility of truth, coherent narratives, and, of course, intentionality, the authors breathe new life back into both "the author" and literary theory. This book is essential reading for anyone in the humanities who has an interest in critical thought, hermeneutics, and all forms of interpretive technique."--Jacket.