Philip Goldstein explains the socio-historical context of the diverse interpretive practices which make up the humanities in the USA in the 21st century. He considers the rise of college-educated women, minority readers, the increased influence of the Universities, the media and the dominance of the Universities by the sciences.

Modern American Reading Practices: Between Aesthetics and History
Aesthetic Theory: From Marxist Critique to Cultural History
Aesthetics and Reading: Between Theory and History
Gothic Romances and the Modern Humanities: The Changing Status of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: From Liberal Realism to Multiculturalism
'Richard Wright's Native Son: Between Naturalist Protest and Modernist Liberation'
Identity and Convention in Faulkner's Light in August and Morrison's Jazz
The Politics of Sara Paretsky's Detective Fiction
Conclusion: From Aesthetics to Reading Practices

PHILIP GOLDSTEIN is Professor of English, University of Delaware, USA.