Author: Thomas Trotter File Type: pdf Originally published in 1988 as part of theTavistock Classics in the History of PsychiatryIt was during the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the problem of chronic alcohol dependence in modern society and its consequent medical effects emerged. The topic of drunkenness figures prominently in the thinking and writing of social reformers, politicians, theorists, medical practitioners, and psychiatrists. Eventually, by the mid-nineteenth century, alcoholism was named as the disease of habitual drunkenness. Possibly the most important book to predict this was Trotters Essay, written in 1804. Through case studies based on wide experience, he detailed the manifestations of alcoholism, ventured therapeutic recommendations, and squarely termed drunkenness a disease indeed, a mental disease. Originally published in 1988 as part of the Tavistock Classics in the History of Psychiatry series, Roy Porters Introduction to this facsimile reprint locates Trotters work within the wider history of the evolution of the idea of alcoholism. It also examines the Essay in the context of Trotters own life and mind a mind preoccupied with what he saw as the degenerative tendencies of modern civilization and with the wider issues of drug dependence. **

Author: Wilfred L. Guerin File Type: pdf Now in its fifth edition, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature has become both a standard introduction to the close reading of literature and an invaluable resource for English graduate students. It offers students and other readers a variety of ways to interpret a piece of literature, ranging from historicalbiographical and moralphilosophical approaches through the formalist, the psychological, the mythic and archetypal, and into such contemporary perspectives as feminist criticism and cultural studies. The book applies these diverse approaches to the same six classic works--To His Coy Mistress, Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, Young Goodman Brown, Everyday Use, and, new to this edition, Frankenstein--showing students how various methods offer different insights and enriching their response to and understanding of the individual works. The fifth edition is enhanced by the addition of Frankenstein, a complex work that lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation and is familiar in both its cinematic and literary forms. The coverage of Frankenstein incorporates material on popular culture--discussions of various fiction, stage, film, and television appearances of the work--as well as several photographs. This edition also features organizational and content changes that bring the volume up-to-date with contemporary literary criticism. Offering a valuable combination of theory and practice, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Fifth Edition, is ideal for courses in literary criticism or theory and can also be used in introduction to literature courses.ReviewFrom the first edition on, I have chosen this Handbook over all the other writing about literature texts in competition with it because of the authors basic methodology of explaining the theory, then following through with models of each theory applied to a cross section of literary genres (with Frankenstein, now including popular culture and film). Each audience finds this text to be so helpful and accessible that the most common response is I wish I had known about this sooner!--Alan S. Loxterman, University of Richmond[T]he descriptions of the various approaches are succinct, thoughtful, and incisive. The authors get right to the point with no confusing vocabulary or terms that might discourage students. . . . At the end of the term we ask for course evaluations from our students, and one suggestion I have found asks me to spend more time in class discussing the assigned chapters in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. . . . This handbook does all I want and I have had no reason to choose another text.--Harry Rusche, Emory UniversityFeatures of the book that led to my adopting it are the sensible, clear, and non-eccentric explanations of the major critical approaches and equally sound analyses of sample texts. . . . A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature is at the head of the class in every way. It is accurate, clear, and illustrative.--George Hahn, Towson University About the AuthorWilfred L. Guerin is at Louisiana State University, Shreveport (Emeritus).