Ten Lessons in Theory

“This beautifully written and imaginatively conceived introduction to critical theory is effectively structured around the ‘ten lessons’ of the title. It offers something genuinely new by focussing in detail on the legacies of Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, whose insights, while foundational to much critical theory, are all too often passed over in cursory fashion in other guides.”

―Lisa Downing, Professor of French Discourses of Seexuality, University of Birmingham, UK, and author of The Cambridge Introduction to Foucault

“Ten Lessons in Theory will make you fall in love with theory. And if you already are, it will make you congratulate yourself for having such a splendid beloved. No ordinary introduction to theory, Calvin Thomas’s treatise is a dazzling, articulate, impassioned, and wholly convincing argument for why theory matters and should continue to matter. Through a close explication of some of theory’s most famous statements, Thomas brings theoretical reasoning to life in ways that keep the reader―even the expert reader―riveted. Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud get the special attention they deserve, and Lacan animates the text the way only Lacan―when well explained―can. The next time a student complains about the ‘uselessness’ or ‘difficulty’ of theory, I’ll hand them Ten Lessons in Theory.”

―Mari Ruti, Professor of Critical Theory, University of Toronto, Canada, and author of The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within

“Gorgeously written and compellingly argued, Calvin Thomas’s Ten Lessons in Theory provides students of all levels with a sparklingly insightful initiation into the full intellectual sweep of what is known as ‘theory’ in today’s humanities. But, in addition to this, Thomas offers even the most seasoned scholars a plethora of creative new perspectives on the past two centuries running from post-Kantian German idealism to the aftermath of ‘postmodernism.’ Ten Lessons in Theory accomplishes nothing less than a radical reconfiguration of our contemporary theoretical conjuncture through its Lacan-inspired reactivation of the more-relevant-than-ever legacies of Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. Everyone from undergraduates to full professors to curious lay readers has a great deal to learn from Thomas. One cannot find a surer, clearer, and more enlightening guide to this tricky intellectual terrain anywhere.”

―Adrian Johnston, Professor of Philosphy, University of New Mexico, USA, and author of Žižek’s Ontology: A Transcendental Materialist Theory of Subjectivity

“[A] wide-ranging, incisive and sometimes polemical tour through contemporary literary theory … Any student or teacher of theory who has trouble giving a sympathetic audience to psychoanalytic concepts and approaches would benefit from the first half of Thomas’s book. Thomas has a gift for not only making Lacanian psychoanalysis clear, but also for making these concepts seem virtually self-evident. … Ten Lessons in Theory should be read widely. Thomas makes a passionate, compelling case for the work of theory, for the political purchase of a certain way of thinking and writing theoretically. He also does an exceptional job of making surprising connections across theoretical approaches and ideas. For the student who does not understand why virtually impenetrable texts are being assigned with such frequency, or why they are considered a necessary part of one’s education, Thomas’s book will not only help clear the conceptual ground, but will also give the student some sense of why grappling with complexity a density is worthwhile in the first place.”

-Kent L. Brintnall, Chiasma