In this first annotated edition of F. R. Leavis' famous critique of C. P. Snow's influential argument about 'the two cultures', Stefan Collini reappraises both its literary tactics and its purpose as cultural criticism. The edition will enable new generations of readers to understand what was at stake in the dispute and to appreciate the enduring relevance of Leavis's attack on the goal of economic growth. In his comprehensive introduction Collini situates Leavis's critique within the wider context of debates about 'modernity' and 'prosperity', not just the 'two cultures' of literature and science. Collini emphasizes the difficulties faced by the cultural critic in challenging widely-held views and offers an illuminating analysis of Leavis's style. The edition provides full notes to references and allusions in Leavis's texts.

Author: F. R. Leavis
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 10/07/2013
Series: Canto Classics
Pages: 121
Weight: 0.4lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.30w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781107617353


Review Citation(s):
Books & Culture 03/01/2014 pg. 11

About the Author
Collini, Stefan: - Stefan Collini is Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at the University of Cambridge. Most recently he is author of ''The Chatto List': Publishing Literary Criticism in Mid-Twentieth-Century Britain', (Review of English Studies 63, 2012) and What Are Universities For? (2012).