Identity formation, the limits of linguistic signification, gender difference, and the possibility for political solidarity: Julia Kristeva has addressed them all. She serves up some of the most nuanced batches of critical theory to date, with all of the passion and rigor -- and often all of the enig

Dense, Feminism, Feminist, Poststructuralism, Severe, Silence, Structuralism

According to Luce Irigaray, Western civilization is "without any female philosophy or linguistics, any female religion or politics. All of these disciplines have been set up in accordance with a male object." This kind of basic feminist observation might sound obvious now, but when Irigaray first utt

Agitated, Deconstructive, Feminism, Political, Poststructuralism, Power, Profane

As a teacher, writer, and cultural critic, bell hooks consistently pinpoints the nastiest dust balls of sexism, racism, and homophobia that lurk in the dark corners of society. She challenges readers of all cultural or political stances with the perspective that no 'ism' is flawless and no one is ent

African american fiction, Deconstructive, Feminism, Feminist, In-your-face, Political, Women's literature

French critic and novelist Simone de Beauvoir reinvented the feminist debate with her shocking text, "The Second Sex" (1953), which has become a theoretical bible for those interested in Existentialist and Marxist analysis of women's societal subservience. Since the arrival of Postmodernism at the ce

Existentialist literature, Existentialist theory, Feminism, Feminist, Pioneering, Smart, Social revolution, Women's literature