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Cultural politics : queer reading / Alan Sinfield.

Summary: Was Shakespeare gay? Is "The Merchant of Venice" anti-semitic? How does mainstream reading differ from that of subcultural groups? How does the formal study of literature handle such questions? This text considers such questions and issues such as the gendering of literary culture, the sexual politics of psychoanalysis during the Cold War, and the history of cultural materialism. It discusses figures such as Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Raymond Williams, Louis Althusser, Walt Whitman, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Holly Hughes, Audre Lorde, Thom Gunn and Jeanette Winterson. The author challenges the assumptions that have shaped the study of English literature, investigates the principles and practice that may inform dissident reading, and ultimately argues that lesbian and gay intellectuals should cultivate an allegiance beyond the academy.