To theorize or not to theorize? the critique of structuralism and post-structuralism in terry eagleton and Abdel Aziz Hammuda

Abstract EN

This paper attends to the crisis of theory in two critics: Terry Eagleton and Abdel Aziz Hammuda.

Eagleton, the leading British theorist, explores vital theory-related issues in Literary Theory: An Introduction (1983), The Significance of Theory (1990), and After Theory (2003).

Abdel Aziz Hammuda, the Egyptian critic, playwright and professor of English literature addresses the crisis of theory in a renowned trilogy: The Convex Mirrors: From Structuralism to Deconstruction (1998), The Concave Mirrors: Towards an Arabic Critical Theory (2001), and Getting out of the Labyrinth: Scrutinizing the Authority of the Text” (2003).

Both Terry Eagleton and Abdel Aziz Hammuda are critical of newer theories, particularly Structuralism and Post-structuralism, attempting to pin down reasons behind the crisis, and to map a way out.

Whereas Eagleton bases his criticism on cultural grounds, Hammuda wishes that Arab history would be re-visited instead of being caught up in the entangling Western web of theories.