Critical Approaches to Joseph Conrad is a collection of essays directed to both new and experienced readers of Conrad. The book takes into account recent developments in literary theory, including the prominence of ecocriticism, ecopostcolonial approaches, and gender studies. Editor Agata Szczeszak-Brewer offers a comprehensive and comprehensible introduction to Conrad's most popular texts, also addressing the most recent academic debates as well as the conversations about narrative and genre in Conrad's canon. Students and scholars of Conrad, twentieth-century literature, and modernism will appreciate the clear, accessible prose by nineteen internationally recognized contributors who approach Conrad in different ways, from postcolonial and ecocritical perspectives, through explorations of gender, to psychoanalysis, narrative theory, and political analysis. Beginning with a biographical introduction by Szczeszak-Brewer, the collection offers an essay outlining the cultural and historical contexts that influenced Conrad's fiction and an essay on reception of Conrad's work. Following that, contributors provide critical approaches to Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Typhoon, Nostromo, The Secret Agent, The Secret Sharer, and Under Western Eyes. In these sections scholars offer insights about complex issues in Conrad's fiction, ranging from the study of specific literary tools and narrative development in his books to the political theories in Conrad's portrayal of the threat of terrorism and violent revolutions.

This collection of major critical readings presents the best of contemporary literary theory and criticism on Conrad. A glossary of terms and a bibliography categorised by critical approach complete the volume.

Joseph Conrad is a key figure in modernist fiction, whose innovative work engages with many of the crucial philosophical, moral and political concerns of the twentieth century. This collection of major critical readings of his work is arranged according to the issues which each critic addresses, issues which are of crucial importance, and in many cases remain controversial, within contemporary literary theory and criticism. Following an opening section on the critical tradition, indicating how the study of Conrad's work has been politicised since the 1970s, there are sections on 'Narrative, Textuality and Interpretation', 'Imperialism', 'Gender and Sexuality', 'Class and Ideology', and 'Modernity'. Within each section two or three critical excerpts offer contrasting and complementary accounts of the fiction, while the headnotes to each piece and the introduction place these excerpts within the wider critical debate, clarifying for the reader both the theoretical issues and the interpretation of Conrad's fiction. A glossary of terms and a bibliography categorised by critical approach complete a volume which will provide an invaluable resource for students of Conrad and twentieth-century literature as well as other readers of Conrad's work.

This volume presents a galaxy of traditional and modern critical approaches to Joseph Conrad's oeuvre, ranging from biographical and autobiographical studies to literary comparisons with John Milton, Herman Melville, James Joyce, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Cormac McCarthy; from postcolonial and Marxist analyses to reader-response, intertextual, and archetypal criticism. Some pieces incorporate the theoretical-philosophical insights of Josiah Royce, Sigmund Freud, and Jacques Lacan; others consult Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha, and Slavoj Zizek. Apart from Conrad's life and its reflection in his writings, these essays illuminate such thematics as the critique of reality; nationalism; imperial evil; racism; landscape and truth; impressionism; psychological archetypes; doubling and defamiliarization; alienation and selfhood; the uncanny; imaginary identification and the real; ideology as specter; unconditional hospitality; the theory of whirling and veering; and academic teachings of Conrad, both their past character and future possibilities.

Broadview's Online Theory and Criticism augment the outstanding selection of historical materials included in the Broadview Edition of Heart of Darkness by providing a wide selection of more recent articles and other resources specifically oriented to the study of Heart of Darkness using critical theory. The Online Theory and Criticism supplement to the novel is thus perfectly suited to courses emphasizing theoretical approaches. Though the site can be purchased independently and used with any text of Heart of Darkness, this package offers the Broadview Edition of the text (which also includes an introduction and historical contextual materials) together with the Online Theory and Criticism passcode at a discounted price. Because Broadview's Online Theory and Criticism appears on the web, we are able to offer a breadth and depth of material that would be unwieldy in a print book. A selection of thirteen articles offers a wide representation of critical approaches to Heart of Darkness, including important postcolonial, feminist, queer, and ecocritical readings as well as readings that focus on the novella’s philosophical underpinnings and its approach to language. Alongside these articles specific to Heart of Darkness, the site also features foundational writings by key figures in literary theory, from Freud to Derrida. Every article is supplemented with discussion questions and a list of “Connections” guiding students to related material on the site; for students approaching literary theory for the first time, a series of brief introductions to common critical approaches to literature offers additional guidance.

Heart of Darkness is often considered the world’s best short novel. The book serves as a bridge between the 19th century and modernism, an adventure tale revolving around the ambiguity of themes such as truth, morality, and evil. Joseph Conrad witnessed the European exploitation of the Congo with his own eyes. He once sailed up the Congo River himself to locate a countryman at a trading station deep within the country – even though this man wasn't named Kurtz. The goal and enigma of the journey have become synonymous with this name, one of the most unforgettable fictional characters of our time. JOSEPH CONRAD [1857–1924] was born in Ukraine to Polish parents, went to sea at the age of seventeen, and ended his career as a captain in the English merchant navy. His most famous work is the novella Heart of Darkness [1899], adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1979 as Apocalypse Now.

For half a century, J. Hillis Miller has been a premier figure in English and comparative literature, influencing and leading the direction of literary studies. What is less well-known is that he has been equally influential in Conrad studies with his work on nihilism, language, and narrative in Joseph Conrad's fiction. Reading Conrad, authored by J. Hillis Miller and edited by John G. Peters and Jakob Lothe, charts Miller's shifting insights into Joseph Conrad's fiction