Document Type : Research

Author

• Reihaneh Aslanzadeh

PhD of theoretical-cultural sociology, department of sociology, faculty of social science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This paper reviews the ‘The Sociology of Literature’ by Diana Laurenson and Alan Swingewood. It is the second book with this title that has been published in Iran by SAMT within a period of a quarter of a century. The translation of the book is good and it looks interesting. The main problem with this book is its oldness. Based on an unwritten agreement in academic literature, the translation of old works implies that the author is a highly esteemed theorist or a reliable teacher of some theory. This book, which was published in 1970, falls under none of the above. In addition, the authors and the translator are in disagreement regarding the status of the book. The authors see the book as a suggestion for reading and researching and an introduction to a field in which there was not an integrated knowledge in the English-speaking literature. The translator sees the book as a great piece of work that has no parallel. However, the theoretical selection and historical summary of the book face criticism from two perspectives. First, both parts somehow are in contrast with the anti-positivism approach of the book: whether in the logic of selecting theorists and events or in the formation and presentation of contents. Second, the theoretical and methodical summary is inadequate. Overall, given the availability of a rich body of papers and books by thinkers from the sociology of literature, cultural sociology, critical theory, and interdisciplinary philosophy, this book does not seem a good choice for teaching.
 

Keywords

• Sociology of Literature
• Literary Criticism
• Genetic Structuralism
• Book Review

Main Subjects

• Sociology