Issues in contemporary literary theory

Studies in literature in Universities in the last two decades have been marked by the growing interest in a bitter division over a set of related theorical approaches known collectivelly as Literary Theory. Many Departements have become divided between "Theory People" and opponents who see themselves as devending the traditional values central to the culture against theory's perceived anti-humanism. Literay theory is part of a wide-spreadmovement in the culture which has affected a number of disciplines, occasioning similar disputes in some, a movement wich has explored and elucidated the complexities of meaning, textuality and interpretation. Literary theory is not a single enterprise but a set of related concept and practices most importantly deconstruction, post-Lacanian psychoanalytic criticism and much feminist criticism. The aim of this essay is to define the issues that ground these contemporary literary theories