Critical theory nowadays is a well-coordinated, cohesive set of assumptions and methods. It is NOT made up of a disparate collection of ideologies with contradictory or unconnected assumptions or methods. In other words, there is a paradigm that applies to certain schools like postmodernism, deconstruction, postcolonialism, Marxism, New Historicism or cultural critique, psychoanalysis, and feminism. There are connections between these fields. They differ in terms of focus or approach in certain respects. These theories differ from other theoretical approaches in that their major goal is practice. Praxis is a combination of theory and application. Rather than simply analyzing power systems, critical theories aim to alter them in positive ways. Marxism, postmodernism, and feminism are all examples of clearly recognizable critical viewpoints. The communication of dominating social, economic, and political systems is revealed and critiqued in these critical theories. The study of language, human relationships, organizational structures, politics, economics, media, cultural ideologies, labor, and other social movements.All reasonable members in the professional interpretative community embrace a uniform set of principles and methodologies or processes.There is a paradigm available which has basic principles that apply to specific schools such as postmodernism, deconstruction, postcolonialism Marxism, New Historicism or cultural criticism, psychoanalysis, and feminism.
Marxism is one of the earliest sources of critical thought. It asserts that literature both reflects and is a social institution with a definite ideological function: literature takes part in the series of struggles between oppressed and oppressor classes that have occurred throughout human history.
Postmodernism literally means "after the present moment," which is a tough notion to understand.
Feminism opposes gender stereotypes and behaviors in order to promote more equitable and egalitarian communication and social structures in society. It includes a wide spectrum of philosophical discussions, economic structures, and political viewpoints.
Postcolonialism reinterprets and analyses the values of literary writings by focusing on the settings in which they were written, exposing the colonial ideology hidden therein.
New Historicism "finds meaning by evaluating a text's contents in the context of 'what actually happened' during the period that generated the text, or by looking at a text within the framework of the prevalent ideas and assumptions of its historical age."
Cultural criticism challenges established value systems and adopts a multidisciplinary approach to works that have historically been neglected by white European male aesthetic ideology. Cultural studies explores works by minority ethnic groups and postcolonial writers, as well as folk, urban, and popular culture products, rather than focusing on the canon.
Psychoanalysis claims that the literary work is a manifestation of the author's own neuroses, and that "unresolved and often unconscious ambivalences in the author's own life may contribute to a discontinuing literary production."
Deconstruction "typically argues that a particular literary, historical, or philosophical work both claims to possess full and immediate presence while admitting the impossibility of achieving such presence,"—that texts, rather than revealing the New Critic's "unities," actually dismantle themselves due to their intertwined, inexorably opposing "discourses" (strands of narrative, threads of meaning).
Postmodernism, feminism, and postcolonialism have also influenced how critical theories have grown and extended to investigate a wider range of social power systems. While each of these tactics tackles a different element of oppression, they are all necessary for true social transformation, not only in Western countries but around the world.