"Postmodernism, deconstruction, and the attack on the Western Canon have stirred academic disputes so intensely that they have spilled down from the lofty world of literary criticism into the mass media and popular culture. Even TV situation comedies have made sport of such arcane concepts as the deconstructionist notion that words have no intrinsic meanings outside of a given social or economic context."--BOOK JACKET.

"Now, literary critic R. V. Young surveys the dominant trends in literary theory of the past thirty years and concludes that the result has been a corruption of the teaching of literature, which is an essential part of a liberal education."--BOOK JACKET. "Young views the current controversy as an essentially spiritual conflict that has profound political implications."--BOOK JACKET.

"At War with the Word seeks to transcend the politicization of literature and calls for a greater recognition of literature's role in developing the intellect and imagination of students."--BOOK JACKET.