Binary Option Trading Scams Inquiet que les courtiers option binaires sont arnaquer leurs clients Évitez les escroqueries et de protéger votre investissement avec la réponse à ces questions. Trading Scam vs succès Trading Vous devriez toujours choisir des entreprises qui clarifient les risques impliqués. Quels courtiers améliorent votre pourcentage de gain tout en diminuant le facteur de risque Banc de Binary est entièrement réglementé et une société binaire hautement professionnelle qui offre aux clients des outils qui les aident à devenir des négociants qualifiés tout en évitant les pertes inutiles. Leur vidéo et leurs didacticiels vous aident à vous renseigner sur la protection des risques et la rentabilité financière. Ils offrent également le gain le plus élevé du marché binaire, 95 par commerce, un service de signaux gratuits et un bonus de 100. Banc de Binary n'est pas disponible pour les clients américains et canadiens. Mais avec le timbre CySEC, c'est la destination la plus sûre pour les commerçants européens: D'autre part, si vous êtes un citoyen américain, GOptions est célèbre pour son programme de formation en tête à tête qui vous donne un tutorat individuel et vous permet d'exceller dans Commerce en ligne. En raison de leurs rendements très élevés et service à la clientèle de premier ordre, les clients ont des rapports beaucoup de satisfaction, et plus important encore des gains plus élevés, au moment de choisir cette société sérieuse et digne de confiance. Les Gptions garantissent également des retraits le même jour et des prix d'actifs précis. Avec un service de signalisation gratuite et sans risque des métiers, il dispose d'un éventail d'outils pour vous aider à réussir: Redwood Options est l'un des courtiers binaire les plus fiables et expérimentés dans le monde et en vous inscrivant à cette société, vous avez accès à plus de 80 vidéos commerciales . Acquérir d'importantes compétences en ligne de négociation et de voir vos profits augmenter de façon cohérente avec l'aide d'une équipe dévouée d'assistants d'orientation financière. Redwood Options offre plusieurs autres outils éducatifs, et a été largement salué par les opérateurs: OptionBit est le seul courtier binaire qui vous donne un accès exclusif à Algobit. Il s'agit d'un outil de trading trading gratuit, considéré comme le système le plus avancé pour le trading binaire automatisé. Algobit identifie les meilleures opportunités commerciales et exécute les métiers pour vous à partir de votre plate-forme. Tout ce que vous devez faire est d'approuver chaque transaction et profiter de l'augmentation de la rentabilité. Beaucoup de commerçants ont donné une rétroaction très positive sur leur succès avec ce logiciel, considéré comme le système de signaux les plus innovants dans le monde. OptionBit (qui n'accepte pas non plus les clients nord-américains) vous offre un bonus très généreux et des conseils gratuits d'une équipe professionnelle de conseillers en placement. Il s'agit d'un cadre parfait pour démarrer votre expérience binaire: Le marché des options binaires a été en constante croissance depuis son apparition dans la scène des investissements en ligne à la fin de 2008. Cette croissance a eu lieu dans le monde entier et a été suivie avec une demande de réglementation qui a commencé . Heureusement, cette croissance apporte avec elle d'excellents courtiers, tels que ceux mentionnés ci-dessus. Ces courtiers sont un exemple d'entreprises sérieuses et engagées, prêts à aider les clients avec des outils d'investissements multiples et du matériel éducatif pour permettre une meilleure expérience de négociation. Sûrement, certains courtiers binaire souligner la possibilité de gagner plus que le risque de perte. Ils poussent leur produit. Tout comme vous ne vous attendez pas un vendeur d'iphone à dire: hey, ne pas acheter la version la plus récente de l'iphone, celui que vous avez est plus que suffisant pour vos besoins, vous ne devriez pas attendre des courtiers de commercialiser leur produit comme très risqué. Pas quand ils peuvent le présenter comme ultra-rentable. Néanmoins, très souvent, la différence entre un courtier fiable et un courtier suspect est la transparence de leurs offres. Binary Option Trading Scams Théorie Beaucoup de gens qui échangent des options binaires perdent tout leur argent. Non seulement ils ne profitent pas, ils gaspillent l'investissement entier. Pourquoi Parce que les options binaires est une entreprise à haut risque, c'est un dérivé financier qui offre des gains absurdes. Ces rendements élevés sont toujours accompagnés d'un risque de pertes aussi élevées. Ne pas s'attendre à une offre de gagner 80 revenus en 15 minutes sera bénéfique pour tous ceux qui tentent d'obtenir ce genre de paiement. Si tel était le cas, quelle compagnie dans le monde serait capable de supporter une telle perte L'investissement serait insoutenable pour les courtiers. Courtiers option binaires vous offrent la possibilité de gagner un incroyable revenu mensuel supplémentaire parce que statistiquement, ils savent plus de commerçants vont perdre que ceux qui vont gagner. Votre travail est de comprendre que vous prenez un risque et assurez-vous de faire tout le nécessaire pour le minimiser. Restez sur le côté sûr des statistiques, être un gagnant. La théorie d'une escroquerie de négociation d'option binaires est le résultat de deux choses: Les nombreux commerçants malheureux racontant leur triste histoire d'un investissement mal tourné Les entreprises vendant l'idée que le commerce binaire est un bénéfice sûr, sans risque En ce qui concerne la première question, A été impliqué dans le commerce devrait se sentir mal pour les commerçants collègues qui ont été moins chanceux dans le domaine. Pourtant, investir mal n'est pas une raison pour appeler cela une escroquerie. En ce qui concerne les courtiers binaire essayer de convaincre les clients qu'ils vont facilement faire un revenu supplémentaire, ceux sont ceux que vous devriez rester loin. S'en tenir aux courtiers qui vous offrent de véritables outils pour améliorer vos résultats, devenir un meilleur trader en ligne, et faire des prédictions correctes de manière cohérente. Ce qui est le plus connu pour la création de profit pour leurs clients Binary Option Trading Scam: Conclusion Il n'ya pas d'arnaque, sauf que des courtiers qui cachent le fait que ce dérivé financier est un investissement à risque élevé. Assurez-vous d'éviter ces escrocs et respectez les meilleures sociétés binaires que chaque marché offre. Vous devez choisir le bon courtier et apprendre les stratégies de négociation binaire. Assurez-vous également d'investir des montants raisonnables de l'argent, de sorte que vous êtes en mesure de risque. Pourtant, l'option binaire n'est pas une arnaque. C'est un investissement à haut rendement qui peut se transformer en une grande expérience, ou du moins une expérience d'apprentissage. Si vous voulez vous donner la meilleure chance, essayez Banc de Binary ou Redwood Options. Il existe d'autres bons courtiers que vous pouvez consulter à notre page Courtier du mois. En plus d'offrir un centre éducatif à part entière avec des matériaux et des tutoriels entièrement gratuits, ces courtiers ont des conseillers en placement à votre disposition pour l'orientation et l'aide professionnelle. Certains courtiers peuvent également vous fournir un compte de démonstration ou un bonus en espèces. Avec un démo-compte d'options binaires, vous pouvez former vos stratégies de négociation et d'options sans risquer d'argent réel. Toutes ces offres, bonus et assistance prouvent que lorsque vous choisissez le bon courtier binaire, vous évitez les escroqueries et, plus important encore, faire un profit précieux. Mises à jour d'escroqueries d'opérations binaires d'octobre 2015, le nombre d'entreprises entièrement réglemente par le Cysec à Chypre ont multiplié et incluent OptionBit, Banc de Binary et OptionWeb, entre autres. Ceci est un signe de la professionnalisation du champ des options binaires. Octobre 2015 Anyoption, la plus grande société de négoce d'options binaires, a annoncé son retour sur le marché italien, après une longue absence en raison de demandes réglementaires du gouvernement italien. Dès le mois d'avril dernier, la CONSOB a cité une section de la Directive MIF (Directive sur les marchés d'instruments financiers de l'Union européenne) qui suggère que les courtiers en options binaires sont obligés par la loi d'être correctement réglementés. Il ya quelques mois, à la suite d'une demande de la CONSOB, un juge italien avait ordré de bloquer plusieurs sites de négociation binaire. Depuis lors, le marché des options binaires dans ce pays avait été dans l'agitation, avec les commerçants se tournant vers les courtiers rivaux et plusieurs sociétés binaires brouiller pour une réglementation rapide. Avec la marque d'options binaires la plus reconnaissable obtenant un permis formel pour rouvrir ses affaires sur un grand marché européen, les clients pourront échanger avec plus de confiance et à moindre risque, ce qui devrait amener certaines des allégations d'escroquerie à faire une pause. Le trading d'options binaires est toujours un investissement volatil qui exige beaucoup de prudence et une stratégie financière cohérente, mais le domaine semble se déplacer dans une direction positive, en créant des garanties raisonnables pour les fonds de clients déposés avec eux. Cela vient peu après un boom de mécanismes de négociation automatisés envahit les plateformes d'options binaires, avec de nombreux commerçants se déplacent vers ce système commercial novateur et controversé. OptionBit8217s Algobit a reçu le plus d'éloges pour son produit de service de signaux libres, tandis que d'autres offres, telles que Cedar Finance8217s Auto Binary Code a fait l'objet de critiques sévères. Options binary News TradeFusion - Profit today March 16th - 2016 Les traders en ligne peuvent maintenant commencer à augmenter leurs niveaux de profit avec TradeFusion, un nouveau système automatisé high-tech qui peut être exploité sans expérience préalable ou la compréhension des marchés financiers. Développé pour servir le profil d'investissement des nouveaux utilisateurs, ce logiciel de trading automatique peut vous aider à réussir et à gagner de l'argent immédiatement. Remplissez ce formulaire pour vous inscrire et recevoir ce logiciel gratuit. En toute sécurité et en partenariat avec les courtiers réglementés par les autorités financières en Europe, TradeFusion est votre chance de gagner de l'argent en ligne et offre actuellement une licence gratuite à vie. Un excellent logiciel que vous pouvez utiliser immédiatement en ouvrant votre compte et gagner de l'argent instantanément. Money Multiplier - Milliers Rapport Earnings 16 Mars - 2016 Money Multiplier a vu en Février 2016 ses meilleures performances jamais. Cet outil de trading automatisé a dépassé toutes les attentes des commerçants en ligne et est maintenant considéré comme le logiciel de trading en ligne le plus populaire. Tout au long de ces dernières semaines, ce service de négociation automatique avancée a déjà générer des profits pour des milliers d'investisseurs en ligne. Ce logiciel gratuit et indépendant peut analyser les marchés boursiers et identifier les meilleures opportunités d'investissement, en exécutant des métiers pour vous avec un niveau de haute précision qui génère d'excellents gains. Cliquez sur la bannière ci-dessus et inscrivez-vous dès maintenant pour commencer à gagner de l'argent avec Money Multiplier. Dans le même temps, l'option Navigator est désormais proposée en Russie. Le russe n'est pas pris en charge sur notre site, mais vous pouvez lire sur cet outil automatisé dans cette revue russe. Algobit - le meilleur outil de négociation 2015 16 mars - 2016 Algobit, le meilleur service de signaux gratuits pour le négoce d'options binaires, a de nouveau été considéré comme l'outil de trading le plus précis par un panel de traders professionnels. Si vous voulez gagner un revenu supplémentaire sans avoir à apprendre des stratégies commerciales compliquées, cliquez sur la bannière et commencez à utiliser ce logiciel gratuit. Avec l'amélioration constante de ses outils de signal, OptionBit, le développeur d'Algobit, semble avoir créé la réponse ultime à des métiers précis. Le service de signaux avancés offert par ce courtier réglementé a été salué par les commerçants du monde entier. Commencez maintenant et voyez votre argent se multiplier. Un nouveau logiciel gratuit qui ne nécessite pas de téléchargement ou d'installation, la boussole commerciale réduit le risque d'options binaires et permet à des milliers d'utilisateurs d'améliorer leurs résultats et de gagner de l'argent en ligne. Le système est actuellement offert sans frais et un abonnement à vie dans le cadre d'une promotion de lancement dont vous devriez profiter immédiatement. La boussole commerciale peut exécuter des millions de calculs tout en recueillant constamment des informations sur les marchés financiers. Ce produit sûr. Avec sa base de données énorme, compare les tendances actuelles aux oscillations antérieures pour prédire avec une précision étonnante ce que le prix des actifs sera à l'expiration d'un commerce d'options binaires. Le résultat final de cette capacité est un plus grand équilibre dans votre compte de trading. Options binaires Trading Topics Échecs impliquant le marché binaire Options binaires Le Guide complet Découvrez le monde des options binaires. Si vous vous engagez dans cette activité de négociation, et si vous le faites, comment vous orienter loin de l'escroquerie des options binaires, et se concentrer sur les fournisseurs fiables. Bien que notre expertise est au sein de forex trading et de change. Contrairement à des sites dédiés comme celui-ci. Nous avons estimé que ce domaine est trop important pour être laissé à découvert. Quelles sont les options binaires et pourquoi sont-ils considérés comme si risqué Une option binaire est un type d'option où le gain est un montant fixe ou rien. Par exemple une option de 100 avec le gain de 75, le paiement 175 si le commerçant gagne et rien si le commerçant fait le mauvais appel. Lorsque vous achetez une option binaire, le rendement potentiel est indiqué avant l'ouverture du métier. Il est possible d'offrir des options binaires pour presque tous les produits financiers échangeables. Les options binaires permettent également à un trader aller soit long ou court, pour prendre une position longue un commerçant achète une option d'achat et d'aller à court un commerçant achète une option de vente. Les options binaires sont disponibles à la fois comme un produit négocié en bourse et comme un produit négocié hors bourse en vente libre. Les résidents américains ne sont autorisés à échanger des options binaires que par le biais d'échanges réglementés aux États-Unis. En Europe, les options binary non négociées en bourse sont devenues très populaires depuis un certain nombre de plates-formes en ligne ont commencé à les introduire en 2008. Dans cet article, nous allons jeter un oeil à la fois échangeés et non négociés en bourse options binaires. Options binary non négociées en bourse Les options binary non négociées en bourse ont été disponibles en vente libre pendant une longue période. Traditionnellement, les options binary non négociées en bourse étaient considérées comme un instrument exotique, en raison du fait qu'il n'y avait pas de marché pour la négociation de ces options. Les options binaires ne se trouvaient généralement que dans des contrats d'options complexes. Tout cela a commencé à changer lorsque, en 2008, un certain nombre de plateformes en ligne ont commencé à offrir une version simplifiée des options négociées en bourse. Il n'était pas long jusqu'à ce que l'industrie a décollé et il est estimé qu'il existe plus de 100 plates-formes différentes offrant ce type de négociation d'options binaires. Les options binaires négociées hors bourse ont fait l'objet de beaucoup de critiques, une partie de cette critique est due à la façon dont les plates-formes font leur argent. Les plates-formes ne facturent pas leurs utilisateurs des frais ou commissions, mais plutôt faire de leur argent agissant comme la contrepartie aux positions des clients. Ainsi, les chances sont biaises dans les plates-formes favorables, pour un commerçant de faire un profit, ils devront prédire le mouvement des prix correctement au moins 55 du temps. Par exemple, notre trader nommé John croit que l'USDJPY fermera au-dessus de 100 à la fin de la journée. John achète alors une option 100 CallUP de la plate-forme avec un rendement fixe de 70. Si le USDJPY est au-dessus d'une centaine à la fin de la journée, John reçoit un total de 170. Si le USDJPY se ferme au-dessous de 100, alors notre trader Ne reçoivent rien. Il devrait être clair que dans ce cas, les chances sont biaisées dans la faveur des fournisseurs. En supposant que chaque événement était également probable, un retour équitable de l'option aurait été de 100. Dans cette situation, John devra être correcte environ 60 du temps pour faire des bénéfices, ce qui donne au fournisseur un avantage distinct. Jusqu'à récemment, les options binaire non négociées en bourse étaient en grande partie non réglementées, en raison de la présence du produit dans la zone grise classifiée. Beaucoup d'organismes de réglementation ne savaient pas si le produit devait être réglementé comme une forme de jeu ou comme un produit financier tel qu'établi par la MiFID. En mai 2012 CySec Cypruss régulateur a annoncé qu'ils allaient commencer à réglementer le produit comme un instrument financier. Cette décision a fait de CySEC le premier régulateur MiFID à reconnaître les options binaires comme un produit financier. En 2013, Maltas Financial Services Authority a succédé à la prise en charge de la responsabilité réglementaire de la Lottery and Gaming commission des pays. Il reste à voir si d'autres pays commenceront à réglementer les options binaires. Beaucoup considèrent que les options binaires non négociées en bourse sont une forme de jeu, car le fournisseur a un avantage distinct sur ses clients. Ce sentiment a été repris par Gordon Pape dans un article fortement rédigé sur le sujet des options binaires. Opérations boursières négociées en bourse Les options binaires négociées en bourse sont arrivées sur les lieux en 2007 lorsque la Corporation de compensation d'options a proposé une modification de règle pour permettre l'échange d'options binaires négociées. La SEC a ensuite approuvé les options binaire de cash-or-nothing en 2008, ce qui a vraiment fait rouler la balle et maintenant il est possible de négocier des options boursières négociées en bourse par un certain nombre d'échanges réglementés, y compris le CBOE, AMEX et maintenant NADEX IG, l'un de nos courtiers ECN recommandés). La réglementation financière des États-Unis empêche l'échange d'options de change et, par conséquent, les citoyens américains ne peuvent échanger des options binaires que via un marché réglementé américain. Contracts amp Cost Exchange traded Les options binaires sont légèrement plus compliquées que leurs cousins non négociés en bourse. Notre trader croit à nouveau que l'USDJPY fermera au-dessus de 100 à la fin de la journée. Il va ensuite et achète dix contrats de CallUP de cash-or-nothing pour 40 chacun, lui costant un total de 400. Si le USDJPY ferme au-dessus de 100, il recevra un total de 1000, dont un total de 600 sera profit (10 X 100 contrats 8211 40 x 10 contrats). Si l'USDJPY n'avait pas dépassé 100, John aurait perdu un total de 400 (40 x 10 contrats). Ceux d'entre vous qui ont suivi notre exemple de commerce ci-dessus auront remarqué que les options boursières négociées en bourse ont un prix différent. Au lieu de l'option ayant un paiement de pourcentage fixe, chaque contrat a un paiement fixe avec le prix du contrat de changer en fonction de ce que les commerçants sont prêts à payer. Donc, si un contrat standard 100 coûte 40, le marché croit que la probabilité que cet événement particulier soit d'environ 40. Contrairement aux options binaires sans échange, l'échange agit comme une contrepartie, mais impose plutôt aux traders une commission pour l'utilisation de l'échange. Ce modèle de tarification plus compliqué est la force réelle des options boursières négociées en bourse, car il permet aux commerçants d'utiliser des modèles d'évaluation des options pour calculer si une option est sur ou sous-évaluée et donc le commerce en conséquence. Différents modèles de tarification ont été adaptés pour répondre aux options boursières négociées en bourse, avec la possibilité d'utiliser des modèles de tarification bien connus pour calculer la valeur théorique d'un contrat d'options binaires. Par exemple, des feuilles de calcul existent qui permettent aux commerçants de calculer la valeur théorique des contrats d'option binaires en utilisant le modèle Black-Scholes infâme. Ainsi, les options boursières négociées en bourse sont une excellente occasion. Les options binaires négociées hors bourse sont fortement influencées par les fournisseurs et les comparaisons avec les cotes fixes ne sont pas injustes, bien qu'il semble qu'un certain nombre de régulateurs européens aient décidé que ces options sont en fait un type d'instrument financier. Les options boursières négociées en bourse ont attiré beaucoup moins d'attention, en partie du fait qu'elles sont un instrument plus compliqué et en partie du fait qu'elles n'ont pas été aussi agressivement annoncées. Je dirais que les options boursières échangées en bourse sont en fait un produit bien supérieur, avec beaucoup de potentiel pour ceux qui s'intéressent à l'échange d'options. Options binaires 8211 Trading Risk et Intro Pouvez-vous faire de l'argent avec des options binaires Options binaires sont devenus un instrument très populaire en ligne avec de nombreuses plates-formes options binaires popping up partout. Beaucoup de nouveaux commerçants sont attirés par les rendements potentiels élevés que ces instruments financiers simples offrent, mais beaucoup critique des options binaires ont noté que les chances semblent fortement empilés en faveur du fournisseur. Aujourd'hui, nous allons examiner, si les chances sont injustement empilés en faveur des fournisseurs d'options. Lorsque vous entrez dans un contrat d'options binaires, vous pouvez soit placer ou appeler, cela vous donne deux options. Si l'on devait supposer que le marché était également susceptible d'aller de toute façon le taux de rendement équitable serait de 100. Cette situation ne donnerait à aucune des parties un avantage distinct et le parti qui a sorti le gagnant à long terme serait tout simplement chanceux . La négociation d'options binaires diffère de cette situation hypothétique à deux égards cruciaux: les fournisseurs d'options binaires donnent généralement des rendements sensiblement inférieurs à 100. Les marchés ont tendance à évoluer dans une direction particulière, ce qui signifie que le marché est également susceptible d'aller de toute façon. Prenant ces deux différences cruciales dans le respect il devient beaucoup plus difficile de déterminer si les options binaires comme typiquement le prix donnent à un commerçant un coup juste à la victoire sur le long terme. En général, les options binaires à court terme offrent un taux de rendement d'environ 70, ce qui signifie que pour avoir une valeur neutre attendue, un opérateur devrait prévoir le marché avec précision autour de 58-60 du temps. Cela signifie qu'un trader aurait à prédire le mouvement des prix avec 58-60 précision juste afin de ne pas perdre de l'argent. Si l'un ou l'autre résultat était juste comme probable, il est clair que le commerçant obtiendrait une affaire brute et nous pourrions nous attendre à ce qu'il finisse par perdre tout son argent au courtage d'options binaires. Il semble toutefois que les options binaires pourraient être rentables pour ceux qui pourraient prédire le marché avec un degré de précision de 60 degrés. Il convient de souligner que peu de systèmes de négociation peuvent assurer des prévisions de prix à terme avec ce degré de précision. De nombreux systèmes commerciaux traditionnels sont beaucoup moins fiables mais surmontent leur manque de fiabilité grâce à une gestion des risques appropriée. Par exemple, de nombreux systèmes Forex peuvent être rentables tout en prédisant correctement l'action du marché 30 de l'époque. Comme un contrat d'option à rendement fixe options binaires don8217t permettre ce genre de gestion des risques. Si vous étiez en mesure de prédire le mouvement des prix à un degré de précision de 30, vous seriez un perdant important trading options binaires. Dans la simulation MonteCarlo j'ai couru au-dessus, il a fallu 22 métiers à la buste du commerçant. Les options binaires semblent avoir le potentiel d'être rentables pour ceux qui sont capables de prédire les marchés avec un très haut degré de précision. Toute personne qui peut prévoir de façon fiable l'action de prix du marché avec un degré de précision supérieur à 60, peut s'attendre à faire un profit de trading options binaires. Cependant, le nombre de systèmes de population qui seront capables de déterminer avec précision le mouvement des prix avec un tel degré de précision est susceptible d'être extrêmement limité. Je crois également que la variance statistique pourrait conduire à beaucoup de gens croient qu'ils ont déterminé un moyen très précis d'appeler les marchés, avant de se rendre compte qu'ils ont en fait juste eu une longue chance. Comme les courtiers d'options binaires fonctionnent comme une contrepartie à un commerçant et il n'ya aucun moyen de couvrir les positions, il n'est pas surprenant que le produit est configuré de telle manière qui rend improbable pour les commerçants individuels de battre le fournisseur à long terme. Bien que je n'irais pas jusqu'à nier que certaines personnes seront en mesure de faire de l'argent trading options binaires, je conseillerais fortement que les individus examiner sérieusement s'ils peuvent vraiment prédire l'action prix du marché avec un tel degré de précision. Si oui, alors vous pouvez juste avoir un coup réel à faire de l'argent à partir de négociation d'options binaires. Courtiers en options binaires ou est-il escroquerie Nous ne pouvons pas conclure que les options binaires en soi sont des arnaques. Certainement pas Nadex par IG qui est l'échange binaire également réglementé par les autorités américaines, et la possibilité il existe d'autres bons courtiers d'options binaires là-bas. Le problème est que nous avons des difficultés à les trouver. Il ya des courtiers Forex qui offrent également des options binaires sur le dessus, mais la plupart d'entre eux ne sont pas bien classés dans ce site (par exemple, Vantage FX et 24FX). Les seules bonnes entreprises que nous pouvons recommander qui ont passé les tests sur ce site sont: 3. ZuluTrade (qui est une plateforme de négociation sociale qui vous permettra de vous inscrire à des courtiers valides) Nous sommes à l'affût des sites Web d'options binaires fiables supplémentaires Et nous allons ajouter d'autres sociétés à cela bientôt. Options binaires Historique 8211 Comment est-ce que Trend Emerge Depuis son introduction en 2008, les options binaires ont rapidement gagné en importance et sont souvent commercialisées comme la façon la plus simple pour le client moyen de négocier sur les marchés financiers. Cette hausse de la proéminence est probablement à quelques facteurs différents, d'abord l'industrie des options binaires a pleinement adopté le modèle de marketing d'affiliation et a offert à ceux qui sont prêts à promouvoir leurs services récompenses beau. Deuxièmement, les options binaires appel à un nouveau démographique qui voient traditionnel Forex ou le commerce d'actions comme trop complexe, mais encore envie d'une façon de faire de l'argent de la négociation des marchés financiers. Il ya beaucoup de confusion autour des options binaires, cela est en partie dû au fait qu'il existe à la fois des options binaires offertes par des plates-formes en ligne telles que Banc De Binary et il existe des versions négociées en bourse offertes par Nadex. Cet article va se concentrer sur les options binaires offerts par les plates-formes en ligne telles que Banc De Binary, GTOptions et, 24 Options. Avant l'introduction de ces plates-formes, les options binaires étaient perçues comme des instruments exotiques en raison du fait qu'il n'y avait pas de marché pour le négoce de ces instruments hors bilan. Il était courant de trouver ces options intégrées dans un contrat d'options et ces options n'étaient normalement achetées que par des acheteurs extrêmement sophistiqués. Ce n'est qu'en 2008 que les options binaires sont devenues plus solidement établies dans la psyché publique, avec un certain nombre de plateformes Web en ligne offrant la possibilité de négocier des options binaires. Les options binaires offertes par ces plates-formes étaient essentiellement une version simplifiée des Binaries négociés en bourse traditionnels. Le nombre de plates-formes exploitées a rapidement proliféré, estimant qu'au début de 2012, plus de 90 de ces plates-formes fonctionnaient. Une partie de la raison pour laquelle l'industrie a grandi à un tel taux étonnant était que le produit a été fortement biaisé dans la faveur de maisons, avec des options binaires être un instrument très rentable à offrir. Top Cycles Related CySEC annonce 12 nouvelles sociétés sous licence Cypruss régulateur financier interne CySEC a publié une liste annonçant les entreprises qui ont obtenu la licence CySEC entre Juin et Septembre de cette année. Au cours de cette période, un total de 12 entreprises ont obtenu des licences, la majorité de ces entreprises étant des courtiers d'options binaires. Au cours des premiers mois de 2013, un total de 17 entreprises ont obtenu de nouvelles licences CySEC et cette annonce récente montre que l'île de Chypre reste une destination populaire pour les courtiers Forex et Binary Option. Parmi les nouveaux permis notables figurent: YTF Trade Limited. Rodeler Limited société d'options binaires actuellement en négociation comme ZoneOptions. Traderworld Ltd de FT TraderWorld marque des options binaires actuellement trading comme TraderWorld. Cbay Financial Services Ltd La société derrière le bien connu Binary Options marque 24Options. Trendoks Ltd courtier Forex multi-plateforme qui offrent cTrader, MT4 ampères 5 ainsi que Margin Pro. T. B.S. F Best Strategy Finance Limited. La société derrière la bien connue Binary Options marque Cedar Finance. B. O Tradefinancials Ltd. courtier d'options binaires opérant sous le nom commercial de OptionFair. Règlement sur les options binaires Chypre et Malte Chypre et Malte sont actuellement les deux seuls pays de l'UE à réglementer les options binaires hors bourse, bien que les commissions européennes estiment que les options binaires hors bourse constituent un instrument financier et relèvent donc de la directive MIF. Récemment, les pays européens ont commencé à réprimer les opérations des sociétés d'options binaires non réglementées avec des tribunaux italiens IP bloquant un certain nombre d'entreprises, ces mouvements ont conduit à un nombre croissant d'entreprises qui cherchent à être réglementés au sein de l'Union européenne. En 2012 Cypruss CySEC est devenu le premier régulateur à superviser les options binaires et est devenu la destination principale pour les courtiers d'options binaires cherchant à devenir réglementé. Chypre est devenu la destination populaire pour les entreprises de services financiers en raison de l'adhésion des pays de l'Union européenne et la situation fiscale favorable. Cette dernière annonce de CySEC démontre que l'île est susceptible de rester l'un des destinations les plus populaires pour les courtages Forex et Binary Option. Plus récemment, Maltas MFSA a suivi la direction de CySEC et est devenu le deuxième régulateur de l'UE à classer les options binaires hors bourse comme un instrument financier. Avant cette décision, la réglementation des sociétés Binary Option était supervisée par la Lottery and Gaming Commission des pays. Toutefois, les entreprises de l'option binaire ont été beaucoup plus vif sur Chypre comme base opérationnelle, avec les entreprises semblent être réticents à baser leurs opérations à Malte. Il reste à voir si les autres régulateurs européens décident de suivre et de décider de réglementer les options binaires. Techfinancials lance la plate-forme Forex et Binary Options Techfinanicals, l'un des principaux fournisseurs de technologies binaires et exotiques offrant la technologie qui alimente les plates-formes d'options binaires bien connues, y compris 24Options et d'autres. Vient de sortir avec une annonce concernant leur lancement de tous dans une plateforme Forex et options binaires. La nouvelle plate-forme propulsée par Techfinancials donnera aux courtiers d'options binaires la possibilité d'offrir des opérations de trading traditionnelles aux côtés de leurs offres d'options binaires déjà établies. Selon les représentants de Techfinancials ce nouveau développement sera libéré à côté d'un portefeuille complet de plans de conception supérieure et des peaux, qui peuvent être utilisés pour répondre à chaque opérateur de goût individuel et le marché cible. Bien sûr, ceux de Techfinancials sont très enthousiasmés par leur nouvelle offre. Comme beaucoup de leurs clients, car il leur donnera la possibilité d'augmenter la valeur de l'utilisateur. Une telle offre est également susceptible d'augmenter la rétention des clients avec le PDG de Techfinancials déclarant: Le nouvel ajout de Forex à notre plate-forme a été spécifiquement conçu pour permettre aux commerçants binaire une transition simple et fluide de Binaire au Forex grâce à une expérience unifiée avec un intuitif et facile à Utiliser l'interface. Eyal Rosenblum Il semble que beaucoup pensent qu'il ya une progression naturelle des options binaires à la négociation Forex, avec les clients éventuellement faire le passage de la négociation d'options binaires à la négociation OTC Forex. L'introduction d'une plateforme de Forex intégrée permet à ces courtiers d'options binaires de capturer ces clients Forex trading ainsi et une telle plate-forme tout-en-un apparaît pour fournir des courtiers avec un argument de vente forte. Bien qu'il existe déjà des solutions intégrées de forex et d'options binaires telles que IG Groups et un certain nombre de plugins MT4 qui permettent aux courtiers Forex d'offrir des options binaires. Le lancement par Techfinancials les amène à devenir le premier fournisseur de technologie Binary Options à offrir une solution tout-en-un. Beaucoup s'attendent maintenant à une forte tendance à émerger avec les fournisseurs d'options binaires réclament d'offrir Forex et plus de produits commerciaux à leurs clients. Initialement, on pensait que la tendance se déroulerait dans l'autre sens avec les courtiers Forex offrant leur propre plate-forme d'options binaires. Bien que cela ait été partiellement vrai, par exemple, SafeCap Investments a lancé sa propre marque d'options binaires TopOption. La croissance attendue des courtiers Forex offrant des options binaires ne s'est jamais matérialisée. Avec certains des principaux fournisseurs d'options binaires croissant à un taux décent, il semble que les fournisseurs d'options binaires sont prêts à commencer directement en concurrence avec les courtiers Forex déjà établis. Banc De Binary réagit aux procédures américaines Il a été un mois depuis qu'il a été annoncé que Banc De Binary, était sur la réception de l'action juridique de la CTFC et la SEC pour prétendument solliciter des clients américains. Aux États-Unis d'Amérique échange d'options hors-bourse est illégal, avec seulement les échanges réglementés étant en mesure d'offrir des options aux clients. Si Banc De Binary avait en fait engagé la sollicitation de citoyens américains, il est clair que l'entreprise aurait enfreint la réglementation américaine. Banc De Binary ont été totalement silencieux sur la question jusqu'à présent. Le PDG d'Oren Laurent, a publié aujourd'hui une déclaration à ForexMagnates pour clarifier la position des entreprises sur la question. Le site Web indique que selon la déclaration publiée par l'entreprise, Banc De Binary abandonne toute activité aux États-Unis de son propre chef et déclare en outre que le CTFC et la SEC ont tous deux confirmé que Banc De Binary n'est pas en mesure d'offrir son Produits aux citoyens américains sans la réglementation financière appropriée. Pour être autorisé à opérer aux États-Unis, les transactions devraient être effectuées par le biais d'un échange. La déclaration a ensuite déclaré que l'entreprise est actuellement en négociations avec les deux régulateurs, mais stipule clairement que l'entreprise ne sera pas la publicité ou de prendre sur les clients américains pour le moment. La déclaration de façon assez intéressante ne fait aucune mention de la poursuite réglementaire en cours contre l'entreprise. La société cherche à cesser les comptes commerciaux américains et à retourner les fonds intégralement aux clients, moins les primes non acquittées. Il est intéressant de noter que la déclaration publiée par l'entreprise ne fait aucune déclaration concernant les poursuites actuelles en cours aux États-Unis. L'enquête menée par la CTFC cite que Banc De Binary a permis aux citoyens américains de commercer sur leur plate-forme de mai 2011 à mars 2013. Il sera donc intéressant de voir si les discussions en cours avec les autorités réglementaires américaines suffiront à apaiser les autorités américaines et Conduire à la rétractation des actions susmentionnées ou des peines moindres. Il a été spéculé qu'un certain nombre de fournisseurs de plate-forme Option Binaire travaillent sur une plate-forme distincte pour le marché américain. Ces plates-formes comporteraient l'intégration à l'échange et il a été rapporté qu'un certain nombre d'entreprises sont en négociations avec les autorités de réglementation américaines au sujet d'un tel pont. Cette solution conduirait à ce que le commerce binaire soit placé par le biais d'une bourse réglementée, plutôt que comme un pari contre une division de gestion des risques de l'entreprise. Il reste à voir si une solution est trouvée, NADEX étant actuellement le seul opérateur à offrir des options binaires aux États-Unis. CTFC poursuit le Banc de Binaire CySEC réglementé Banc de Binary a été à la réception d'une poursuite civile lancée par CTFC. La Commission des contrats à terme sur matières premières des États-Unis a allégué que Banc de Binary avait agi contrairement à la réglementation américaine en permettant aux commerçants américains de négocier par l'intermédiaire de leur plate-forme d'options binaires. Dans la poursuite qui a été déposée au Nevada, le CTFC allègue que de mai 2011 à mars 2013, Banc De Binary a permis aux clients américains de négocier des produits optionnels. Il est bien connu que la réglementation américaine interdit la négociation d'options hors bourse, ce qui conduit à la montée des échanges tels que Nadex qui permettent le négoce réglementé des options binaires. Le CTFC a en outre allégué que Banc de Binary n'a pas non plus limité ses offres d'options aux participants au marché admissibles. Cela signifie essentiellement que Banc de Binary n'a pas réussi à recueillir des informations en ce qui concerne la valeur nette de leurs clients et l'expérience de négociation, encore une fois cela est exigé par la réglementation américaine comme une mesure de protection des clients. Il semble également que le CTFC a également contesté Banc de Binaire d'inscription d'un bureau de Wall Street sur leur site Web, ce qui est encore une chose que les régulateurs américains ont une vision sombre de. Banc de Binary n'est pas la première entité européenne réglementée à avoir été dans la ligne de tir CTFC, avec 2012 voir 25 courtiers Forex obtenir en difficulté pour solliciter les clients américains. Les 25 entreprises inscrites à la liste des CTFC en 2012 n'ont pas toutes reçu une amende et un certain nombre de courtiers ont pu éviter toute forme d'amende. Toutefois, il semble que ce ne soit pas le cas en l'espèce avec le CTFC qui demande réparation, dérogation et résiliation ainsi qu'une injonction empêchant Banc de Binary de fonctionner aux États-Unis. Il semble donc que le CTFC veut aller plus loin qu'avec les maisons de courtage qui ont été condamnées à une amende l'an dernier, avec l'apparence que le CTFC veut accorder une lourde amende et assurer le retour des profits tirés de l'acceptation des clients américains. Le CTFC a reconnu que CySEC et la FCA avaient participé à l'enquête. Si la décision va à l'encontre du Banc de Binary, il sera intéressant de voir si les régulateurs européens coopéreront avec le CTFC et appliqueront les sanctions éventuellement imposées par les autorités américaines. Tout d'abord, le CTFC, maintenant la SEC va après Banc de Binary Nous avons très récemment signalé comment le CTFC a entrepris une action civile contre le courtier bien connu des opérations binaires Banc de Binary, pour ce qu'ils croient être un certain nombre de transgressions réglementaires commises par l'entreprise. Eh bien maintenant la SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) qui sont chargés de réglementer et de surveiller les activités de négociation sur les bourses basées aux États-Unis, ont suivi le procès en émettant un autre avertissement aux investisseurs sur ce qu'il croit être le risque associé à ces hors bourse . Tout en annonçant son intention de poursuivre le Banc de Binary pour les mêmes transgressions que le CTFC a allégué dans son procès civil au Nevada. Selon la plainte de la SEC contre Banc de Binary, la société a commencé à offrir des produits binaire d'échange aux clients américains en 2010. Avec Banc de Binary prétendument incitant les clients américains à créer des comptes avec la société et déposer de l'argent dans ces comptes, - exchange qui viole le droit réglementaire américain. Ils ont ajouté que Banc De Binary sollicitation des clients américains a été assez réussie et a attiré un certain nombre de clients avec des moyens très limités. Citant un investisseur qui avait un revenu mensuel de seulement 300 et une valeur nette inférieure à 25 000, et un autre client qui a été encouragé à déposer plus de fonds dans son compte, même après qu'il avait informé Banc de Binary qu'il était au chômage avec moins de 1000 dans Son compte courant. Cette situation est de nouveau contraire à la réglementation américaine qui exige que les entreprises offrent uniquement des instruments d'option aux clients qui comptent comme participants au marché admissibles. En plus de l'action en justice, la SEC a également publié un communiqué de presse avertir les clients américains du risque de déposer de l'argent avec des entreprises binationales basées à l'étranger. Les investisseurs devraient être conscients des possibilités de fraude dans ce domaine ainsi que de la réalité qu'ils peuvent perdre leur investissement entier, a déclaré Lori Schock, directeur du Bureau des SEC de l'éducation des investisseurs et de plaidoyer. Nous encourageons fortement les investisseurs à vérifier les antécédents des courtiers et des conseillers et des plates-formes de négociation avant de prendre une décision d'investir. Si les investisseurs ne peuvent obtenir des informations de base simple, comme si le professionnel financier est enregistré auprès de la SEC ou FINRA, alors ils devraient être extrêmement prudents. Source La SEC est à la recherche de dégagement plus intérêt préjugé, les sanctions financières et autres injonctions préliminaires et permanentes contre CySEC réglementé Banc de Binaire. Si la SEC réussit, cela signifie que Banc de Binary sera probablement confronté à de lourdes amendes et peut être contraint de remettre tout bénéfice tiré de la sollicitation de clients américains. Il est parfaitement légal de négocier des options binaires en Amérique à condition que la négociation se fasse par le biais d'un marché réglementé tel que NADEX (North American Derivatives Exchange) qui appartient au groupe IG. Maltas MSFA pour réglementer les options binaires Maltas Financial Services Authority, a annoncé aujourd'hui qu'ils vont catégoriser les options binaires en tant qu'instrument financier conformément à la directive sur les marchés d'instruments financiers (MiFID) de l'UE. Les régulateurs financiers Maltas ne sont pas le premier régulateur européen à reconnaître les options binaires comme un instrument financier, avec CySEC prendre des mesures pour réglementer l'instrument en 2012. D'autres régulateurs mondiaux ont également pris des mesures en ce qui concerne les options binaires, récemment FSA japonais a pris des mesures dures Régler les options binaires. Les fournisseurs de plates-formes d'options binaires ont été prompts à répondre et ont commencé à fournir des versions de plaintes japonaises de leurs plates-formes de négociation. Il semble clair que les régulateurs mondiaux prennent des mesures pour réglementer cette forme de négociation financière et l'annonce de Maltas est un autre pas dans cette direction. Avant l'annonce d'aujourd'hui par Maltas Financial Services Authority, les fournisseurs d'options binaires ont pu être réglementés en tant que fournisseur de jeux par Maltas Lottery and Gaming Authority. Un certain nombre de fournisseurs d'options binaires, y compris OneTwoTrade ont pris cette route particulière. Cependant, cette annonce voit la fin de cet arrangement avec la responsabilité étant transférée loin de l'autorité de jeu des pays. Les courtiers en Option Binaire seront tenus d'obtenir une licence de Services d'Investissement de Catégorie 3, et tous les courtiers d'Option Binaire seront assujettis au capital minimum requis de 730 000 Euros tel que défini dans la MiFID. Toute entreprise autorisée dans la juridiction sera soumise à la conformité sur site et hors site. Si les maisons de courtage qui ont cherché réglementation des jeux de décider de rester dans la juridiction reste à voir, avec de nombreux courtiers optant pour la juridiction en raison de la réduction des coûts liés à l'obtention d'une licence de jeu. Les exigences de fonds propres établies par MiFID constituant un obstacle majeur à l'entrée pour de nombreuses sociétés d'options binaires. CySECs passer à réglementer les options binaires en 2012 a vu un certain nombre d'entreprises à la recherche d'une licence CySEC. Malte étant la deuxième juridiction européenne à réglementer l'industrie, une telle augmentation des applications réglementaires semble peu probable. Il reste à voir si d'autres régulateurs européens suivent leur exemple. TDOptions a reçu une amende de 50 000 pour la prestation de services d'investissement en provenance de Chypre, sans avoir la licence d'entreprise d'investissement requise par la loi chypriote. L'annonce sur le site Web CySEC a suggéré que TDO Consulting avait offert des services d'investissement de Chypre jusqu'au 3 décembre. En mai 2012, CySEC est devenu le premier régulateur de l'Union européenne à commencer à réglementer les produits en option binaire en vente libre. Tous les fournisseurs d'options binaires opérant à partir de Chypre étaient alors tenus de demander une licence au cours des cinq mois précédents ou de faire face à une éventuelle action des autorités de réglementation. Je crois que TDOptions est la première société d'options binaires à avoir été condamnée à une amende depuis l'annonce des modifications réglementaires apportées en mai 2012. Chypre est depuis devenu un atout pour les entreprises de services financiers attirées par les faibles taux de l'impôt sur les sociétés Et l'outil de services financiers talent situé sur l'île. Jusqu'à l'annonce de mai 2012 concernant l'annonce du règlement sur les options binaires, Chypre était devenue la destination numéro un pour les plates-formes d'options binaires. Since the regulatory changes a number of platforms moved their operations from the Island, however Cyprus can boast a number of regulated Binary Option brands including an not limited to TopOption, Banc de Binary and SpotOption the biggest white label provider of Binary options solutions. It will be interesting to see whether CySEC takes further action against Binary Option platforms operating from the Island after the deadline for licence applications. Binary Options regulation is a relatively new thing and it will be interesting to see how the landscape develops and whether any other European regulators begin to follow the suit of CySEC. Recently, CySEC regulated Banc de Binary was sanctioned by US regulatory authorities for operating in the United States without the proper authorization. With it being reported that other Binary Option providers were also operating within the United States, it will be interesting to see whether the US regulators take any further action against other firms. In any case expect to hear more developments in regards to Binary Options regulations. iOption has shutdown For the past few hours there have been numerous rumors regarding the future of CySEC regulated Binary Options brokerage iOption. According to reports in certain media outlets the firm has let go off its entire operating staff and is now closed for business. These reports seem to have been confirmed by those who have business relationships with the Binary Options brokerage with Forex affiliate network FXPN getting into contact with its affiliates and informing them that the firm is indeed ceasing to operate. iOption is thought to be one of the largest Binary Options brands and had recently acquired a full CySEC licence allowing the firm to operate across countries in the European Economic Area, so to many that this will come as quite a surprise. There is currently no clear indication regarding why the firm is ceasing operations but some sources have stated that employees have not been paid since the beginning of October. For those who have accounts with the firm the future seems rather uncertain, with the brokerage making no indication regarding what will happen to funds deposited into client accounts. The situation is particularly precarious as iOption only recently gained a CySEC licence and it remains clear whether client funds will be protected by the countries Investors Compensation Scheme. Only as the situation develops will we begin to understand how the shutdown of iOption will affect the firms existing clients. For those involved in the Binary Options, the shutdown of iOption is unlikely to be taken as a positive sign, with many already holding a poor opinion regarding Binary Options as product. In the last couple of years the industry has begun to clean up its image, with CySEC and Maltas MSFA recently making moves to regulate the product as a financial instrument. The news that a major Binary Options firm has shut down is likely to further ingrain the products image problem. Since 2008, the Binary Options industry has enjoyed incredible growth with a huge number of brokerages opening up shop to cater to those interested in the easy to use financial product. The fact that iOption has ceased trading might be an indication that the industry is reaching maturity and it wouldnt surprise me if more Brokerages begun to shut up shop, as the huge expansion in the number of brokerages offering the product has never seen sustainable. Check back for updates regarding the iOption situation. Binary Options Broker EZTrader regains CySEC License An announcement made on CySECs official website has confirmed that WGM Services Ltd has regained their CIF License. WGM Services Ltd, is best known for operating the relatively high profile Binary Options brand EZTrader. The company also operates a number of less well known brands including EZInvest, GlobalOption and 888Binary which specifically targets the Chinese market. The decision to restore EZTraders CySEC license was made during the regulators meeting on the 22nd of December. The decision highlighted the fact that the broker was now in fully compliant with CIF (Cypriot Investment Firm) regulations. In an announcement made on the 20th of November 2014, the regulator had announced that WGM Services license had been suspended, due suspected breaches violations of Cypriot security laws. The three alleged violations were in regard the safeguarding of client funds, the capital adequacy of the firm and the CIFs large exposure. No specifics were given regarding the withdrawal of the license and meant that the firm could not provide any investment services as pursuant to Cypriot Securities Law and was forced to close all client positions and return all profitsfunds if the client wished. At the time the Binary Options brokerage was given 15 days to comply with the decision. After a due diligence procedure was completed by WSM Services Ltd, the concerns originally raised by CySEC were fully addressed leading to the company regaining its CIF License. This meant the brands run by WSM Services could resume providing investment services as pursuant to the countrys securities law. CySEC and Binary Options Cypriot regulator CySEC made waves when in YEAR, it became the first European regulator to regulate non-exchange traded Binary Options as financial products. This has led to the island becoming a hub for Binary Options brokerages who wish to gain a regulatory license which adds credibility to their brand(s) and allows them to offer their services to those residing within the European Economic Area. This is due to the fact that European law allows for investment services firms regulated in one European Economic Area jurisdiction to offer their services to those based anywhere else within the economic area. CySEC has recieved a fair bit of critcism for its decision to regulate Binary Options, as a financial product with many seeing the product more akin to fixed odds betting. In fact in a number of jurisdictions around the world, Binary Options are seen as a form of gambling and are regulated accordingly. Other European regulators have been slow to follow CySECs president regarding Binary Options, with only Maltas MSFA following suit. Cyprus still however remains the number one destination for Binary Option companies looking to gain regulatory approval and the extra credibility which comes with it. Our friends at the most respectable forex site in the world (forex peace army ) have rated this cmopany (EZTrader) as 1.35 5. Be warned. These kinds of online Binary Options have been widely criticized, as it became clear that the products were generally skewed heavily in favor of the house. Using Monte Carlo simulations it can be shown that in order to make a profit from Options which offer a 70 rate of return, one must accurately predict price movement with a 55 or greater degree of accuracy. Being able to predict price movement with a 55 degree of accuracy is actually much more difficult than it sounds. For instance many Forex systems only win around 30 of their trades but still manage to make significant profits by engaging in good risk management, essentially running with the profitable trades and cutting the losses short quickly. Binary Options however require the trader to be able to predict price movement with a high degree of accuracy and while I8217m sure a limited number of individuals can predict price movement with such accuracy, I8217m sure its beyond many traders. Another problem regarding Options as offered by these online platform providers, is that for the majority of their history they have operated completely unregulated. Initially, a number of European financial regulators came out with statements saying that Binary Options were not under the remit of MiFID as they were strictly speaking not financial instruments. CySEC who initially released such a statement became the first European regulatory authority to regulate Binary Options. This led to White Label platform provider SpotOption to become the first company to be regulated on the basis of offering Binary Options. Soon after SafeCap Investments Ltd. who already held a full CySEC licence launched their TopOption platform. Shortly followed by Banc De Binary who gained CySEC regulation in early 2013. However many firms still operate completely unregulated often operating from offshore centers such as Belize and British Virgin Islands. This has left a sour taste in the mouths of some traders who have felt mistreated by some of the unregulated providers still operating in the market place. In early 2013 the European Commission ruled that Binary Options did fall under the definition of a financial instrument as laid out by MiFID, meaning that Binary Option providers looking to operate within the European Union would be required to gain financial regulation. However regulators have been slow to act and there are still plenty of Binary Option providers operating illegally within the European Union. Steps are being made to combat unregulated brokerages, a court ruling in Italy recently forced Italian ISP8217s to block a number of Binary Option websites who had been operating in Italy unregulated. Previously in 2012 a number of Binary Option brokerages were blocked by Turkish ISP8217s on the basis of alleged criminal activities being undertaken by the firms. It thus seems that something is finally being done about rogue operators within the Binary Options world, though questions still remain regarding whether is product worth using with many feeling Binary Options are inferior to both Contracts for Difference and financial spread bets. Comparing Gambling to Binary Options Since they emerged on the trading scene back in 2008, over-the-counter Binary Options in the form offered by well known brands such as 24Options and Banc De Binary have received a lot of attention. It wasn8217t quick until the negative press regarding these off exchange Binary Options providers began to mount up, with a number of rogue operators taking advantage of customers who had signed up to trade. Binary Options also received a significant amount of criticism as a product with many stating that these so called Options were no more than fixed odd financial bets in disguise. This criticism has been widespread with articles in major publications comparing Binary Options to gambling. Unlike with other forms of financial trading, Binary Option brokers can only turn a profit if the majority of those betting on a particular market lose. Binary Option brokers price the Options using a formula which monitors the amount of money placed on a particular market and calculates odds which should see the brokerage turn a profit regardless of the outcome. This model is very similar to the one used by traditional bookmakers when they take bets on sports. When taking bets on a football game a bookmaker, will initially price the market in way in which they profit regardless of the outcome of the game. If a lot of money is placed on one particular outcome the bookmaker adjusts the odds to partially cover their risk. The business model used by Binary Option brokers is remarkably similar to the one used by traditional bookmakers and it is no surprise that Binary Options are often considered a form of gambling. Another reason why Binary Options are often considered a form of gambling is that the company offering these options, always prices the options in a way which gives them a distinct advantage. Binary Option providers tend to offer returns of around 75, which gives them a significant edge over their customers. This means that customers have to correctly guess which way the market is going to move around 65 of the time in order to just break even. While Im sure that there are some people that can overcome this significant disadvantage, the majority of people who try their at hand at Binary Options are going to come out losers. One other reason is commonly cited to why Binary Options should be considered a form of gambling. The majority of Binary brokers primarily offer very short term Options, with many trades lasting no more than a minute. Some have said that this makes even more difficult for those trading Binary Options as it can be extremely difficult to predict such short term price movements, this combined with the fact that the Binary Option broker having such a significant edge means it8217s unlikely for those trading Binaries to ever turn a profit. Binary Options: Is It Trading Some insist that Binary Options can be differentiated from gambling and should be considered a form of financial trading. For one it is the opinion of the European Commission that Binary Options are in-fact a financial instrument as defined in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Despite the opinion the European commission, only two European countries have classified Binary Options as being a financial instrument. It is true that the decision by Cyprus and Malta to regulate the Binary industry did give the product more legitimacy in the eyes of many. Some also believe that Binary Options should not be considered a form of gambling, as it is possible for skilled Binary traders to beat brokers despite the latters significant statistical advantage. There also people that prey on the grand bonuses offered by Binary Options brokers, similarly to casino bonus hunters who abuse the large welcome bonus some casinos offer. It certainly seems that some have been able to profit from Binary Options, but industry statistics suggests that average customer loses around 1,200 before giving up Binary trading. Which strongly suggests that the average Binary trader comes out a significant loser, which isn8217t surprising considering the advantage which brokers posses. Conclusion Binary Option brokers operate in a way similar to bookmakers, making profit only when the majority of their customers lose money. This combined with the fact that Binary Option providers have a significant edge over their customers has led many to compare Binary trading with gambling. Despite this some insist that Binary Options are not a form of gambling, but are instead a legitimate form of financial trading, however these arguments aren8217t particular convincing. It does certainly seem that Binary Options are comparable to gambling in a significant number of ways and it is for this reason they have received a lot of criticism as trading instrument. Comparing Binary Options and Forex Since their launch in 2008 off-exchange traded Binary options have grown massively in popularity, while the take up of their exchanged traded counterparts has been much slower. The phenomenal growth of the Binary industry has been fuelled by aggressive marketing focusing on the ease of Binary Options trading and how traders can make impressive returns within the space of a minute. Some have suggested that Binary options may slowly erode the dominance of Spot Forex trading. In this article we are going to take a look at some of the pros and cons of both Binary Options and Spot Forex as financial instruments. Easy to understand . Binary Options are very easy to trade. Traders simply find the instrument they want to trade and then make a decision regarding whether the price of the instrument is going to rise or fall over the selected time period. High Payouts . Part of the recent growth of the Binary industry is that brokers aggressively advertise impressive returns often in excess of 70. Those trading Binary Options can potentially make a 70 return. Poorly regulated industry . Currently only Malta and Cyprus regulate Binary Options as financial instruments. While this is a start in the right direction many feel that Binary Options arent really a financial instrument and should be categorised as a form gambling. Odds Stacked In the houses favour . While a 70 return on an short term option may sound great when you drill down into it, the firm offering the option has the odds stacked in its favour. Traders have to on average predict price movements with 60 degree of accuracy to simply breakeven. Anyone with trading experience will tell you that this is extremely difficult. Firms Profit off client loses . The interests of the firm arent aligned with the customer. As there is no market for the trading of these options firms cant hedge positions and only profit when the client loses. This is not the case with Forex brokers that do not operate dealing desks, meaning that interest of the client and brokerage are perfectly aligned. Heavily Regulated Environment . While there are still numerous brokerages that operate completely unregulated in many jurisdictions Spot Forex is heavily regulated. In European Union Forex falls under the EUs MiFID legislation which ensures a minimum standard of financial regulation. Those who do their research will be able to choose between a range of highly regulated and reputable brokerages. Client and Brokerage Interests Better Aligned : True ECN and STP Brokerages profit from volume placed through the brokerage rather than from clients losing money. This means STP and ECN brokerages ultimately want clients to profit to ensure they continue to receive trading volume. Even Market Makers can profit from successful clients if they do everything correctly from a risk management and hedging point of view. Leverage : Traders can take advantage of significant amounts of leverage. This allows traders to take on much bigger positions than they would otherwise be able too. This can help traders maximise potential profits though leverage can also work against a trader. Complex compared to Binary Options . Spot Forex trading is much more complicated and those new to financial trading will face a steep learning curve. Pips, Lots and leverage will all be new to those who dont have prior knowledge of the Foreign exchange market. This is a significant barrier to entry to many who want to simply make money from financial markets without taking the time to learn the ins and outs of trading. Many consider Binary Options as a poor product with some likening Binary trading to gambling. This comparison is not unreasonable with Binary Option firms profiting from client losses in a similar way to how bookmakers profit from their clients. This creates a clear conflict of interest as it is in the brokerages interest for clients to lose, combined with a lax regulatory environment has led to the industry gaining a bad reputation. In my opinion, Spot Forex is a superior product and those who are interested in trading financial markets should certainly look into Forex as one option. Of course all forms of financial trading involve significant risk and individuals seek independent advice to determine whether trading is for them. Binary Options And Social Trading: Potential Problems Ever since the first FX social trading products were launched back in 2008, the growth of social trading has been extraordinary with a large number of products being launched to compete with industry pioneers such as eToro and ZuluTrade . 2008 was also the year which saw the launch of non-exchange traded Binary Options, a controversial but highly popular new financial product. The Binary Option industry has come a long way since 2008, with the product now being available via regulated providers in both Malta and Cyprus. It is only recently, in 2014 that the Binary Options industry has started to look towards offering social trading products for those trading these non-exchange traded Binary Options. Whether Binary Social Trading will gain anywhere near the same level of popularity remains to be seen and their appears to a number of factors which preclude Binary Options being paired up successfully with social trading. While Binary Options are considered by many to be a financial product (including CySEC and the MSFA) they share a lot in common with fixed odd betting. Traders are given two choices, whether an asset will rise in value or depreciate over a certain time frame. Traders then choose an amount to stake on their decision with the opportunity to receive a fixed return should they correctly guess the price direction of the relevant asset. This essentially means that the Binary Option brokerage loses should the trader win, and only profit if a trader loses money. Overall, Binary brokers tend to be wildly profitable as the majority speculating using the instrument lose out and it8217s possible to change the odds to make more difficult for those who were successful to turn a profit in the long run. Social trading sees traders automatically copy the moves of the most successful traders, the idea being that even those without the necessary skills and ability will be able to profit from the financial markets. It often doesn8217t work out like this with many users having a negative experience with social trading. But many of the best signal providers on the larger social trading networks have acquired hundreds of live followers who automatically copy their trades. This doesn8217t necessarily pose a problem when it comes to FX, as brokerages often turn a profit by widening the spread or charging commission which allows them to remain profitable even if their traders make money. Binary Option providers however depend on traders losing in order to make a profit, so a large number of traders making the same successful trades presents a significant risk management problem. It is not immediately apparent how Binary Options providers can deal with this risk management problem without dramatically slashing the odds when a large number of traders start taking up similar positions. This approach would simply significantly reduce the appeal of Binary Options whose appeal lies mainly in the high returns aggressively advertised to prospective traders. Despite these significant problems a number of social trading products have been developed which aim to bring socialcopy trading to the world of Binary Options. SocialCopy Trading Products for Binary Options Launched in 2008, ZuluTrade has become one of the leading copy trading venues online with over 30,000 signal providers offering their signals to those wishing to automatically trade the FX markets. In 2014, ZuluTrade announced an exclusive partnership with SpotOption the leading provider of White Label Binary Option solutions. This will allow ZuluTrade users to copy the trades of leading Binary signal providers and have these trades executed with any SpotOption powered Binary Broker which decides to integrate with the ZuluTrade platform. At the time of writing, 12 Binary Options providers were offering integration with the ZuluTrade platform, representing a small percentage of providers using the SpotOption White Label Solution. ForexMagnates covered the launch of the product, and commentators raised a number of questions regarding how risk would be adequately managed in order to prevent large broker loses. There has been no official answer regarding this particular question, which means it still remains to be seen how option providers will manage their risks in regards to social trading. Almost immediately a number of successful Binary Option Signal Providers popped up on ZuluTrade offering signals for those looking to engage in Binary copy trading. At the time of writing it appeared that the vast majority of signal providers were providing signals using demo accounts and the top ranked signal provider on ZuluTrade had 0 Live Followers. It remains to be seen how successful the Binary Options product from ZuluTrade will be both with brokers and traders alike. Trade4.me, is a Binary Options Social Trading network which was in public BETA at the time of writing. The network allows traders to share their Binary signals with other traders who then copy the trades into their own accounts at a number of supported brokerages. Again the majority of supported brokerages appear to SpotOption, though from the forums it seems that the company is attempting to add a number of non SpotOption platforms to the network. At the time of writing the network had under 2,000 users, with some of the better traders on the leader board posting reasonable returns over a relatively long term period. It is not clear how the network is monetized though it appears that Trade4.me is remunerated based on business brought to the supported Binary Option brokers. Again the, Trade4.me product is still in its infancy and it8217s hard to draw any solid conclusions at this time. Conclusion Binary Options SocialCopy trading is very much in it8217s infancy, and it is still not clear how Binary Option brokerages would deal with the risks involved in having a huge number of traders enter into the similar positions should any Signal Providers gain a significant amount of notoriety. It also remains to seen whether there is significant demand from traders for such products. Leave a Reply Cancel replyBinary Options Trading: An All or Nothing Gamble Binary options trading sounds too legit to be anything but above board. Après tout, cela implique des actions cotées en bourse et des produits de base. Dernièrement, il a été critiqué comme rien de plus que le jeu, pure et simple, mais le bourdonnement autour d'elle devient plus fort et la promesse de l'argent facile attire l'attention des gens de tous les horizons de la vie. Qu'est-ce que c'est, vraiment, et est-ce quelque chose que l'investisseur week-end ordinaire comme vous et moi devrait même se soucier Quelles sont les options binaires Binaire est un adjectif apt pour ce type d'option. Dans le langage de programmation binaire utilisé pour décrire l'un ou l'autre de deux états. 1 ou 0. Dans l'industrie des paris sportifs options binaires sont également populaires gagner ou perdre. En d'autres termes, il n'y a que deux résultats possibles. Il ya une certaine base à cette description tout ou rien de trading d'options binaires. Voici une brève explication de la façon dont il va. Prendre le prix d'un actif à n'importe quel moment. Vous faites une estimation intelligente sur si ce prix va augmenter ou diminuer sur une période spécifique de temps et parier 100 que vous avez deviné droit. Si vous êtes vous récupérer votre pari et plus un montant pré-convenu. Si vous avez tort vous perdez presque tous vos 100. Bien sûr, ce n'est pas aussi simple que cela. En fait, theres mathématiques sérieuses derrière les options binaires et les personnes qui s'engagent dans le commerce d'options binaires, comme tous les autres impliqués dans les marchés financiers, sont assez confiants que leur nombre est meilleur. Parce que dans un commerce d'option binaire unique, le résultat pour les participants est également binaire. On perd, on gagne. Lets get a bit more technical than the simple explanation above. Comme actuellement pratiqué, le négoce d'options binaires implique trois composantes principales. Tout d'abord, il existe un actif sous-jacent dont la valeur future devient la base du commerce. Cet actif peut être le prix d'un stock d'entreprise spécifique. It can be a traded commodity such as gold. Récemment, il ya eu un dépôt de l'industrie à la Commodities and Futures Trading Commission pour permettre des échanges d'offrir des options binaires pour les futurs recettes au box-office de certains films. Deuxièmement, la direction du commerce. C'est votre estimation de ce que le prix de l'actif sera à un moment précis dans le futur et vous faites votre commerce basé sur si ce prix sera au-dessus ou en dessous du prix actuel au moment où le contrat d'options binaires a été fait . Troisièmement, c'est bien sûr le montant que vous souhaitez négocier. Un glossaire d'options binaires Comme la plupart des domaines spécialisés, le trading d'options binaires a son propre jargon. Ces mots sont empruntés à la pratique plus établie des matières premières et des contrats à terme et donnent aux options binaires une aura semblable à celle des dérivés. Prix actuel. Le prix de l'actif sous-jacent. Prix d'exercice. Le prix de l'actif sous-jacent lorsque l'option binaire est achetée. Prix d'expiration. Le prix de l'actif sous-jacent au moment de l'échéance de l'option binaire. Option d'appel. Le droit d'acheter. Dans le négoce d'options binaires, l'achat d'une offre est un exercice de l'option. Dans les échanges américains, cela s'appelle Finish High parce que la motivation derrière un appel est la probabilité que le prix de l'actif à l'expiration du contrat sera plus élevé. Option de vente. Le droit de vendre. Ceci est également exercé lorsque l'offre de vente d'une option est prise. C'est ce que l'on appelle Finish Low dans les échanges américains, car un put est basé sur des projections selon lesquelles le prix d'un actif sera plus bas lorsque le contrat expire. Dans l'argent. Une opération réussie dans laquelle une option d'achat expire au-dessus du prix d'exercice ou d'une option de vente expire en dessous du prix d'exercice. À-l'argent. Une transaction dont le prix pendant l'expiration est identique au niveau de l'achat. Dans certains contrats d'options binaires, un tel scénario exige que le montant de l'investissement initial soit entièrement remboursé au client. Hors de l'argent. Une opération échouée dans laquelle une option d'achat expire au-dessous du prix d'exercice ou une option de vente expire au-dessus du prix d'exercice. Essentiellement, les options sont un terme erroné pour ces types de transactions. Lock (un autre type de dérivé) aurait été le terme le plus approprié, car une fois que l'opération est scellée, l'acheteur et le vendeur sont tenus de se conformer aux conditions convenues pour prendre effet à l'expiration des contrats. Read more: 10 Incredible Lost Savings Stories and Lessons Learned from Them One other thing to remember is that trading in binary options only involves the price of underlying asset, but not the asset itself. Vous pouvez négocier des options binaires pour le prix des actions de Google ou d'Apple ou d'or, mais il n'y a aucune hypothèse que le vendeur possède un de ces actifs ou que vous allez quand le contrat expire. Ce qui rend les options binaires attrayantes Risque fixe et récompense. La plupart des options binaires sont des options de retour fixe (FROs) dans lesquelles les gains et les pertes (le ratio risque-récompense) sont prédéterminés. Vous savez exactement ce que vous gagnerez si vous êtes dans l'argent, ou ce que vous perdriez autrement si vous êtes arrivé à être hors de l'argent. In a 100 trade, for example, many options offer a return of 81 for a successful trade. Beaucoup offrent également de retourner 10 du montant de l'achat si votre commerce est hors de l'argent. Risque plafonné. Vous ne perdrez jamais plus que ce que vous avez investi, ce qui est tout aussi possible dans d'autres investissements comme le change ou l'immobilier. Récompense assurée. De la même manière, les gains ne dépendent pas du prix de l'actif pendant l'échéance. Indépendamment de savoir si l'augmentation du prix est une fraction d'un point ou doubler le prix d'exercice, le gagnant obtient le montant total de paiement. Plus simple à comprendre. In binary options trading you only need to sense the direction of the price of the asset youre trading. Avec des options régulières, vous devez connaître à la fois la direction et l'ampleur du prix. Haut niveau de sophistication. Bien que plus facile à comprendre que la plupart des options, les options binaires offrent encore suffisamment de liberté pour l'application de stratégies d'investissement sophistiquées. Les investisseurs sur le marché des changes utilisent des options binaires pour se protéger contre leurs investissements en devises en investissant dans une direction opposée à leur position traditionnelle de change. Indépendamment de savoir si les prix augmentent ou tombent, theyll ont leurs pertes couvertes ou pourraient même profiter de leur position d'options binaires. Des durées plus courtes. Dans certains échanges, de nombreux contrats se terminent dans la journée. Certaines durées durent seulement une heure, de sorte que la gratification (ou la mortification) est instantanée. Il est possible de participer à de nombreuses options dans un seul jour de bourse. Possibilité de profiter à la fois de la baisse et de la hausse des marchés. Dans les marchés réguliers d'actions et de matières premières, l'argent n'est versé que lorsque le prix de l'actif augmente. Binary trading permet à un investisseur d'absorber certains des risques des marchés et de faire de l'argent, peu importe si les prix sont en baisse ou en hausse. Accès à de multiples marchés. D'un seul compte, vous pouvez avoir accès à un large éventail de marchés et de classes d'actifs, y compris le forex, les actions, les matières premières comme les contrats à terme sur le pétrole et les indices boursiers. Autres types d'options binaires Les options binaires peuvent être cash-or-nothing, où un montant fixe d'argent est payé. It can also be an asset-or-nothing option where instead of cash the value of the underlying asset is paid out. Mis à part ces types de base, il existe d'autres options binaires plus exotiques qui sont un peu plus complexes, mais suivent le même concept général. Read more: Money Tips and Life Advice from The Worlds Richest Women Barrier options are options that depend on a specific price level for their existence within the duration of the options contract. Ils peuvent disparaître (knock-out) ou apparaître (frappé) quand un niveau de prix spécifié est violé. Dans les options de barrière partielle. Le prix n'est surveillé que pour une fenêtre spécifique dans la durée. Dans une option à double barrière. Il ya à la fois une barrière de prix supérieure et inférieure et le double knock ins sont activés ou un double knockout met fin à l'option si l'un de ces obstacles sont touchés. L'option binaire double barrière plus complexe. Dont 28 types, combine les caractéristiques des types barrière et binaire. Les options binaires sont-elles un investissement sûr? Comme pour toute autre forme d'investissement, le risque est inhérent aux options binaires. En fait, les sites Web qui garantissent les retours sont ceux que vous devriez rester loin. Il ya eu des plaintes de paiements ne sont pas remis aux comptes bancaires, donc vous aurez besoin de faire diligence avant de commettre. La meilleure idée est d'aller toujours avec l'un des meilleurs brokers d'options binaires que vous connaissez sont légitimes et fiables. Si vous êtes sérieux au sujet d'essayer les options binaires trading out, la sélection d'un commerçant de bonne réputation est la première étape critique. Il ya eu une prolifération de sites Web commerciaux en ligne et il peut être assez déroutant de savoir qui est légitime et qui n'est pas. Commencez par les commerçants inscrits auprès de la Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) ou de l'American Exchange (Amex) pour être sûr que l'entreprise youre traitant est soumis à la réglementation. Les options de remboursement fixe sont plus courantes en Europe et sont fortement échangées dans les échanges européens, donc le surnom d'options européennes. Il a été signalé que des sites basés en Europe se livraient à des opérations boursières non autorisées. La crise financière de 2008 a réveillé chaque Américain à la menace réelle Wall Street présente à leur santé financière personnelle. La réclamation de la réforme financière a entraîné la loi Dodd-Frank qui est entrée en vigueur en 2010. Toutefois, la réglementation de l'échange d'options binaires n'est pas explicite dans les règles d'application et les lignes directrices bien que les propositions de changements de règles ont été discutées à la Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) et avant la création de la loi Dodd-Frank. Pour l'instant et jusqu'à ce que les règles sont en place, la prudence dans ce domaine d'investissement sera toujours votre plus grand filet de sécurité. Si les options binaires sont un bon investissement Oui, si vous avez l'endurance pour surveiller les prix de près, la diligence pour étudier l'histoire et la performance de l'actif sous-jacent youre trading, et pas d'antécédents de jeu compulsif. Forbes chroniqueur Gordon Pape a publié un avertissement fort contre les options binaires. Il prétend que cette forme d'appels commerciaux à la foule de poker en ligne et les drogués du marché qui ont tendance à être plus exubérant dans la prise de chances que l'investisseur ordinaire. En fait, il refuse de reconnaître les options binaires trading comme un investissement légitime. Il insiste sur le fait que c'est une activité de jeu pure où les chances sont empilées contre l'investisseur. Gordon Pape prétend, comme les autres, que vous avez besoin de gagner 54,5 du temps pour égaliser même. Pour certains, ces chances sont assez bonnes, même si la maison obtient la meilleure affaire. Pour la maison, son comme avoir des centaines de machines à sous qui ne sera jamais payer un jackpot. Pour l'investisseur, d'autre part, les options binaires multiplie ses chances de gagner chaque fois qu'il manivelle la machine. Pas le jackpot, peut-être, mais assez grand si on s'en tient et fait les devoirs. Pouvez-vous parier sur les options binaires Partager sur Facebook Partager sur Pinterest Les entreprises peuvent utiliser des logiciels de commerce électronique pour gérer tous les éléments de leur magasin en ligne, y compris l'ajout et la suppression de produits, l'organisation de l'inventaire, le calcul des taxes et autres aspects requis pour leurs sites Web order 8230 Une des plus grandes révolutions Dans l'industrie du logiciel a été l'apparition de logiciels de comptabilité hébergés par les nuages, ce qui plutôt que de remplacer dysfonctionnement graphiques Excel, sociétés d'opérations couvertes weren8217t même conscient pourrait 8230 Une passerelle de paiement sert un canal entre un site eCommerce et la banque qui traite un client paiement par carte de crédit . Il peut également traiter les paiements par carte de débit et eCheck (ACH). 8230 Avec tant de tâches administratives à gérer, les équipes de vente se transforment lentement en groupes de commis de bureau plutôt que de détaillants. Stuck under their heavy paperwork burden, many companies still don8217t 8230 If you8217ve even been troubled keeping up with your to-do lists, you will probably agree that the possibility to create major project schedules for entire teams is exactly what distinguishes 8230Welcome to the Purdue OWL This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue (owl. english. purdue. edu). When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice at bottom. Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism Introduction A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important. For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, she might focus on how the characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working with post-colonial theories, she might consider the same story but look at how characters from colonial powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or the Caribbean. Hopefully, after reading through and working with the resources in this area of the OWL, literary theory will become a little easier to understand and use. Disclaimer Please note that the schools of literary criticism and their explanations included here are by no means the only ways of distinguishing these separate areas of theory. Indeed, many critics use tools from two or more schools in their work. Some would define differently or greatly expand the (very) general statements given here. Our explanations are meant only as starting places for your own investigation into literary theory. We encourage you to use the list of scholars and works provided for each school to further your understanding of these theories. We also recommend the following secondary sources for study of literary theory: The Critical Tradition: Classical Texts and Contemporary Trends . 1998, edited by David H. Richter Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide . 1999, by Lois Tyson Beginning Theory . 2002, by Peter Barry Although philosophers, critics, educators and authors have been writing about writing since ancient times, contemporary schools of literary theory have cohered from these discussions and now influence how scholars look at and write about literature. The following sections overview these movements in critical theory. Though the timeline below roughly follows a chronological order, we have placed some schools closer together because they are so closely aligned. Timeline (most of these overlap) Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction ( 360 BC-present) Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelian Criticism (1930s-present) Psychoanalytic Criticism, Jungian Criticism(1930s-present) Marxist Criticism (1930s-present) Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present) StructuralismSemiotics (1920s-present) Post-StructuralismDeconstruction (1966-present) New HistoricismCultural Studies (1980s-present) Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present) Feminist Criticism (1960s-present) GenderQueer Studies (1970s-present) Critical Race Theory (1970s-present) Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Moral Criticism and Dramatic Construction ( In Book X of his Republic . Plato may have given us the first volley of detailed and lengthy literary criticism. The dialog between Socrates and two of his associates shows the participants of this discussion concluding that art must play a limited and very strict role in the perfect Greek Republic. Richter provides a nice summary of this point: . poets may stay as servants of the state if they teach piety and virtue, but the pleasures of art are condemned as inherently corrupting to citizens. (19). One reason Plato included these ideas in his Socratic dialog because he believed that art was a mediocre reproduction of nature: . what artists do. is hold the mirror up to nature: They copy the appearances of men, animals, and objects in the physical world. and the intelligence that went into its creation need involve nothing more than conjecture (Richter 19). So in short, if art does not teach morality and ethics, then it is damaging to its audience, and for Plato this damaged his Republic. Given this controversial approach to art, its easy to see why Platos position has an impact on literature and literary criticism even today (though scholars who critique work based on whether or not the story teaches a moral are few - virtue may have an impact on childrens literature, however). In Poetics . Aristotle breaks with his teacher (Plato) in the consideration of art. Aristotle considers poetry (and rhetoric), a productive science, whereas he thought logic and physics to be theoretical sciences, and ethics and politics practical sciences (Richter 38). Because Aristotle saw poetry and drama as means to an end (for example, an audiences enjoyment) he established some basic guidelines for authors to follow to achieve certain objectives. To help authors achieve their objectives, Aristotle developed elements of organization and methods for writing effective poetry and drama known as the principles of dramatic construction (Richter 39). Aristotle believed that elements like . language, rhythm, and harmony. as well as . plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. influence the audiences katharsis (pity and fear) or satisfaction with the work (Richter 39). And so here we see one of the earliest attempts to explain what makes an effective or ineffective work of literature. Like Plato, Aristotles views on art heavily influence Western thought. The debate between Platonists and Aristotelians continued . in the Neoplatonists of the second century AD, the Cambridge Platonists of the latter seventeenth century, and the idealists of the romantic movement (Richter 17). Even today, the debate continues, and this debate is no more evident than in some of the discussions between adherents to the schools of criticism contained in this resource. Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Formalism (1930s-present) Form Follows Function: Russian Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelianism Formalists disagreed about what specific elements make a literary work good or bad but generally, Formalism maintains that a literary work contains certain intrinsic features, and the theory . defined and addressed the specifically literary qualities in the text (Richter 699). Therefore, its easy to see Formalisms relation to Aristotles theories of dramatic construction. Formalism attempts to treat each work as its own distinct piece, free from its environment, era, and even author. This point of view developed in reaction to . forms of extrinsic criticism that viewed the text as either the product of social and historical forces or a document making an ethical statement (699). Formalists assume that the keys to understanding a text exist within the text itself, (. the battle cry of the New Critical effort. and thus focus a great deal on, you guessed it, form (Tyson 118). For the most part, Formalism is no longer used in the academy. However, New Critical theories are still used in secondary and college level instruction in literature and even writing (Tyson 115). How does the work use imagery to develop its own symbols (i. e. making a certain road stand for death by constant association) What is the quality of the works organic unity . the working together of all the parts to make an inseparable whole. (Tyson 121) In other words, does how the work is put together reflect what it is How are the various parts of the work interconnected How do paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension work in the text How do these parts and their collective whole contribute to or not contribute to the aesthetic quality of the work How does the author resolve apparent contradictions within the work What does the form of the work say about its content Is there a central or focal passage that can be said to sum up the entirety of the work How do the rhythms andor rhyme schemes of a poem contribute to the meaning or effect of the piece Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Victor Shklovsky Roman Jakobson Victor Erlich - Russian Formalism: History - Doctrine . 1955 Yuri Tynyanov John Crowe Ransom - The New Criticism . 1938 I. A. Richards William Empson T. S. Eliot Allen Tate Cleanth Brooks Neo-Aristotelianism (Chicago School of Criticism) R. S. Crane - Critics and Criticism: Ancient and Modern . 1952 Elder Olson Norman Maclean W. R. Keast Wayne C. Booth - The Rhetoric of Fiction . 1961 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Psychoanalytic Criticism (1930s-present) Sigmund Freud Psychoanalytic criticism builds on Freudian theories of psychology. While we dont have the room here to discuss all of Freuds work, a general overview is necessary to explain psychoanalytic literary criticism. The Unconscious, the Desires, and the Defenses Freud began his psychoanalytic work in the 1880s while attempting to treat behavioral disorders in his Viennese patients. He dubbed the disorders hysteria and began treating them by listening to his patients talk through their problems. Based on this work, Freud asserted that peoples behavior is affected by their unconscious: . the notion that human beings are motivated, even driven, by desires, fears, needs, and conflicts of which they are unaware. (Tyson 14-15). Freud believed that our unconscious was influenced by childhood events. Freud organized these events into developmental stages involving relationships with parents and drives of desire and pleasure where children focus . on different parts of the body. starting with the mouth. shifting to the oral, anal, and phallic phases. (Richter 1015). These stages reflect base levels of desire, but they also involve fear of loss (loss of genitals, loss of affection from parents, loss of life) and repression: . the expunging from consciousness of these unhappy psychological events (Tyson 15). Tyson reminds us, however, that . repression doesnt eliminate our painful experiences and emotions. we unconsciously behave in ways that will allow us to play out. our conflicted feelings about the painful experiences and emotions we repress (15). To keep all of this conflict buried in our unconscious, Freud argued that we develop defenses: selective perception, selective memory, denial, displacement, projection, regression, fear of intimacy, and fear of death, among others. Freud maintained that our desires and our unconscious conflicts give rise to three areas of the mind that wrestle for dominance as we grow from infancy, to childhood, to adulthood: id - . the location of the drives or libido ego - . one of the major defenses against the power of the drives. and home of the defenses listed above superego - the area of the unconscious that houses Judgment (of self and others) and . which begins to form during childhood as a result of the Oedipus complex (Richter 1015-1016) Freud believed that the Oedipus complex was . one of the most powerfully determinative elements in the growth of the child (Richter 1016). Essentially, the Oedipus complex involves childrens need for their parents and the conflict that arises as children mature and realize they are not the absolute focus of their mothers attention: the Oedipus complex begins in a late phase of infantile sexuality, between the childs third and sixth year, and it takes a different form in males than it does in females (Richter 1016). Freud argued that both boys and girls wish to possess their mothers, but as they grow older . they begin to sense that their claim to exclusive attention is thwarted by the mothers attention to the father. (1016). Children, Freud maintained, connect this conflict of attention to the intimate relations between mother and father, relations from which the children are excluded. Freud believed that the result is a murderous rage against the father. and a desire to possess the mother (1016). Freud pointed out, however, that . the Oedipus complex differs in boys and girls. the functioning of the related castration complex (1016). In short, Freud thought that . during the Oedipal rivalry between boys and their fathers, boys fantasized that punishment for their rage will take the form of. castration (1016). When boys effectively work through this anxiety, Freud argued, . the boy learns to identify with the father in the hope of someday possessing a woman like his mother. In girls, the castration complex does not take the form of anxiety. the result is a frustrated rage in which the girl shifts her sexual desire from the mother to the father (1016). Freud believed that eventually, the girls spurned advanced toward the father give way to a desire to possess a man like her father later in life. Freud believed that the impact of the unconscious, id, ego, superego, the defenses, and the Oedipus complexes was inescapable and that these elements of the mind influence all our behavior (and even our dreams) as adults - of course this behavior involves what we write. Freud and Literature So what does all of this psychological business have to do with literature and the study of literature Put simply, some critics believe that we can . read psychoanalytically. to see which concepts are operating in the text in such a way as to enrich our understanding of the work and, if we plan to write a paper about it, to yield a meaningful, coherent psychoanalytic interpretation (Tyson 29). Tyson provides some insightful and applicable questions to help guide our understanding of psychoanalytic criticism. How do the operations of repression structure or inform the work Are there any oedipal dynamics - or any other family dynamics - are work here How can characters behavior, narrative events, andor images be explained in terms of psychoanalytic concepts of any kind (for example. fear or fascination with death, sexuality - which includes love and romance as well as sexual behavior - as a primary indicator of psychological identity or the operations of ego-id-superego) What does the work suggest about the psychological being of its author What might a given interpretation of a literary work suggest about the psychological motives of the reader Are there prominent words in the piece that could have different or hidden meanings Could there be a subconscious reason for the author using these problem words Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Harold Bloom - A Theory of Poetry . 1973 Poetry and Repression: Revisionism from Blake to Stevens . 1976 Peter Brooks Jacque Lacan - The Ego in Freuds Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis . 1988 The Agency of the Letter in the Unconscious or Reason Since Freud (from Eacutecrits: A Selection . 1957) Jane Gallop - Reading Lacan . 1985 Julia Kristeva - Revolution in Poetic Language . 1984 Marshall Alcorn - Changing the Subject in English Class: Discourse and the Constructions of Desire . 2002 Jungian criticism attempts to explore the connection between literature and what Carl Jung (a student of Freud) called the ldquocollective unconsciousrdquo of the human race: . racial memory, through which the spirit of the whole human species manifests itself (Richter 504). Jungian criticism, closely related to Freudian theory because of its connection to psychoanalysis, assumes that all stories and symbols are based on mythic models from mankindrsquos past. Based on these commonalities, Jung developed archetypal myths, the Syzygy . . a quaternion composing a whole, the unified self of which people are in search (Richter 505). These archetypes are the Shadow, the Anima, the Animus, and the Spirit: . beneath. the Shadow is the Anima, the feminine side of the male Self, and the Animus, the corresponding masculine side of the female Self (Richter 505). In literary analysis, a Jungian critic would look for archetypes (also see the discussion of Northrop Frye in the Structuralism section) in creative works: Jungian criticism is generally involved with a search for the embodiment of these symbols within particular works of art. (Richter 505). When dealing with this sort of criticism, it is often useful to keep a handbook of mythology and a dictionary of symbols on hand. What connections can we make between elements of the text and the archetypes (Mask, Shadow, Anima, Animus) How do the characters in the text mirror the archetypal figures (Great Mother or nurturing Mother, Whore, destroying Crone, Lover, Destroying Angel) How does the text mirror the archetypal narrative patterns (Quest, Night-Sea-Journey) How symbolic is the imagery in the work How does the protagonist reflect the hero of myth Does the ldquoherordquo embark on a journey in either a physical or spiritual sense Is there a journey to an underworld or land of the dead What trials or ordeals does the protagonist face What is the reward for overcoming them Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Maud Bodkin - Archetypal Patterns in Poetry . 1934 Carl Jung - The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious . Vol. 9, Part 1 of Collected Works . 2nd ed. Trans. R. F.C. Hull, 1968 Bettina Knapp - Music, Archetype and the Writer: A Jungian View . 1988 Ricahrd Sugg - Jungian Literary Criticism . 1993 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Marxist Criticism (1930s-present) Whom Does it Benefit Based on the theories of Karl Marx (and so influenced by philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel), this school concerns itself with class differences, economic and otherwise, as well as the implications and complications of the capitalist system: Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience (Tyson 277). Theorists working in the Marxist tradition, therefore, are interested in answering the overarching question, whom does it the work, the effort, the policy, the road, etc. benefit The elite The middle class And Marxists critics are also interested in how the lower or working classes are oppressed - in everyday life and in literature. The Material Dialectic The Marxist school follows a process of thinking called the material dialectic. This belief system maintains that . what drives historical change are the material realities of the economic base of society, rather than the ideological superstructure of politics, law, philosophy, religion, and art that is built upon that economic base (Richter 1088). Marx asserts that . stable societies develop sites of resistance: contradictions build into the social system that ultimately lead to social revolution and the development of a new society upon the old (1088). This cycle of contradiction, tension, and revolution must continue: there will always be conflict between the upper, middle, and lower (working) classes and this conflict will be reflected in literature and other forms of expression - art, music, movies, etc. The Revolution The continuing conflict between the classes will lead to upheaval and revolution by oppressed peoples and form the groundwork for a new order of society and economics where capitalism is abolished. According to Marx, the revolution will be led by the working class (others think peasants will lead the uprising) under the guidance of intellectuals. Once the elite and middle class are overthrown, the intellectuals will compose an equal society where everyone owns everything (socialism - not to be confused with Soviet or Maoist Communism). Though a staggering number of different nuances exist within this school of literary theory, Marxist critics generally work in areas covered by the following questions. Whom does it benefit if the work or effort is acceptedsuccessfulbelieved, etc. What is the social class of the author Which class does the work claim to represent What values does it reinforce What values does it subvert What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it portrays What social classes do the characters represent How do characters from different classes interact or conflict Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Karl Marx - (with Friedrich Engels) The Communist Manifesto . 1848 Das Kapital . 1867 Consciousness Derived from Material Conditions from The German Ideology, 1932 On Greek Art in Its Time from A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy . 1859 Leon Trotsky - Literature and Revolution, 1923 Georg Lukaacutecs - The Ideology of Modernism, 1956 Walter Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1936 Theodor W. Adorno Louis Althusser - Reading Capital . 1965 Terry Eagleton - Marxism and Literary Criticism, Criticism and Ideology . 1976 Frederic Jameson - Marxism and Form, The Political Unconscious . 1971 Juumlrgen Habermas - The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity . 1990 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present) What Do You Think At its most basic level, reader response criticism considers readers reactions to literature as vital to interpreting the meaning of the text. However, reader-response criticism can take a number of different approaches. A critic deploying reader-response theory can use a psychoanalytic lens, a feminists lens, or even a structuralist lens. What these different lenses have in common when using a reader response approach is they maintain . that what a text is cannot be separated from what it does (Tyson 154). Tyson explains that . reader-response theorists share two beliefs: 1) that the role of the reader cannot be omitted from our understanding of literature and 2) that readers do not passively consume the meaning presented to them by an objective literary text rather they actively make the meaning they find in literature (154). In this way, reader-response theory shares common ground with some of the deconstructionists discussed in the Post-structural area when they talk about the death of the author, or her displacement as the (author)itarian figure in the text. How does the interaction of text and reader create meaning What does a phrase-by-phrase analysis of a short literary text, or a key portion of a longer text, tell us about the reading experience prestructured by (built into) that text Do the soundsshapes of the words as they appear on the page or how they are spoken by the reader enhance or change the meaning of the wordwork How might we interpret a literary text to show that the readers response is, or is analogous to, the topic of the story What does the body of criticism published about a literary text suggest about the critics who interpreted that text andor about the reading experience produced by that text (Tyson 191) Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Peter Rabinowitz - Before Reading . 1987 Stanley Fish - Is There a Text in This Class-The Authority of Interpretive Communities . 1980 Elizabeth Freund - The Return of the Reader: Reader-Response Criticism . 1987 David Bleich Norman Holland - The Dynamics of Literary Response . 1968 Louise Rosenblatt Wolfgang Iser - The Implied Reader: Patterns of Communication in Prose Fiction from Bunyan to Beckett . 1974 Hans Rober Jauss Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Structuralism and Semiotics (1920s-present) Note: Structuralism, semiotics, and post-structuralism are some of the most complex literary theories to understand. Please be patient. Linguistic Roots The structuralist school emerges from theories of language and linguistics, and it looks for underlying elements in culture and literature that can be connected so that critics can develop general conclusions about the individual works and the systems from which they emerge. In fact, structuralism maintains that . practically everything we do that is specifically human is expressed in language (Richter 809). Structuralists believe that these language symbols extend far beyond written or oral communication. For example, codes that represent all sorts of things permeate everything we do: the performance of music requires complex notation. our economic life rests upon the exchange of labor and goods for symbols, such as cash, checks, stock, and certificates. social life depends on the meaningful gestures and signals of body language and revolves around the exchange of small, symbolic favors: drinks, parties, dinners (Richter 809). Patterns and Experience Structuralists assert that, since language exists in patterns, certain underlying elements are common to all human experiences. Structuralists believe we can observe these experiences through patterns: . if you examine the physical structures of all buildings built in urban America in 1850 to discover the underlying principles that govern their composition, for example, principles of mechanical construction or of artistic form. you are using a structuralist lens (Tyson 197). Moreover, you are also engaged in structuralist activity if you examine the structure of a single building to discover how its composition demonstrates underlying principles of a structural system. In the first example. youre generating a structural system of classification in the second, youre demonstrating that an individual item belongs to a particular structural class (Tyson 197). Structuralism in Literary Theory Structuralism is used in literary theory, for example, . if you examine the structure of a large number of short stories to discover the underlying principles that govern their composition. principles of narrative progression. or of characterization. you are also engaged in structuralist activity if you describe the structure of a single literary work to discover how its composition demonstrates the underlying principles of a given structural system (Tyson 197-198). Northrop Frye, however, takes a different approach to structuralism by exploring ways in which genres of Western literature fall into his four mythoi (also see Jungian criticism in the Freudian Literary Criticism resource): theory of modes, or historical criticism (tragic, comic, and thematic) theory of symbols, or ethical criticism (literaldescriptive, formal, mythical, and anagogic) theory of myths, or archetypal criticism (comedy, romance, tragedy, ironysatire) theory of genres, or rhetorical criticism (epos, prose, drama, lyric) (Tyson 240). Peirce and Saussure Two important theorists form the framework (hah) of structuralism: Charles Sanders Peirce and Ferdinand de Saussure. Peirce gave structuralism three important ideas for analyzing the sign systems that permeate and define our experiences: iconic signs, in which the signifier resembles the thing signified (such as the stick figures on washroom doors that signify Men or Women indexes, in which the signifier is a reliable indicator of the presence of the signified (like fire and smoke) true symbols, in which the signifiers relation to the thing signified is completely arbitrary and conventional just as the sound kat or the written word cat are conventional signs for the familiar feline (Richter 810). These elements become very important when we move into deconstruction in the Postmodernism resource. Peirce also influenced the semiotic school of structuralist theory that uses sign systems. The discipline of semiotics plays an important role in structuralist literary theory and cultural studies. Semioticians . apply structuralist insights to the study of. sign systems. a non-linguistic object or behavior. that can be analyzed as if it were a language (Tyson 205). Specifically, . semiotics examines the ways non-linguistic objects and behaviors tell us something. For example, the picture of the reclining blond beauty in the skin-tight, black velvet dress on the billboard. tells us that those who drink this whiskey (presumably male) will be attractive to. beautiful women like the one displayed here (Tyson 205). Lastly, Richter states, semiotics takes off from Peirce - for whom language is one of numerous sign systems - and structuralism takes off from Saussure, for whom language was the sign system par excellence (810). Using a specific structuralist framework (like Fryes mythoi). how should the text be classified in terms of its genre In other words, what patterns exist within the text that make it a part of other works like it Using a specific structuralist framework. analyze the texts narrative operations. can you speculate about the relationship between the. text. and the culture from which the text emerged In other words, what patterns exist within the text that make it a product of a larger culture What patterns exist within the text that connect it to the larger human experience In other words, can we connect patterns and elements within the text to other texts from other cultures to map similarities that tell us more about the common human experience This is a liberal humanist move that assumes that since we are all human, we all share basic human commonalities What rules or codes of interpretation must be internalized in order to make sense of the text What are the semiotics of a given category of cultural phenomena, or text, such as high-school football games, television andor magazine ads for a particular brand of perfume. or even media coverage of an historical event (Tyson 225) Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Charles Sanders Peirce Ferdinand de Saussure - Course in General Linguistics . 1923 Claude Leacutevi-Strauss - The Elementary Structure of Kinship . 1949 The Structural Study of Myth, 1955 Northrop Frye - Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays . 1957 Noam Chomsky - Syntactic Structures . 1957 Aspects of the Theory of Syntax . 1965 Roland Barthes - Critical Essays . 1964 Mythologies . 1957 SZ . 1970 Image, Music, Text . 1977 Umberto Eco - The Role of the Reader . 1979 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Post-Structuralism, Deconstruction, Postmodernism (1966-present) Note: Structuralism, semiotics, and post-structuralism are some of the most complex literary theories to understand. Please be patient. The Center Cannot Hold This approach concerns itself with the ways and places where systems, frameworks, definitions, and certainties break down. Post-structuralism maintains that frameworks and systems, for example the structuralist systems explained in the Structuralist area, are merely fictitious constructs and that they cannot be trusted to develop meaning or to give order. In fact, the very act of seeking order or a singular Truth (with a capital T) is absurd because there exists no unified truth. Post-structuralism holds that there are many truths, that frameworks must bleed, and that structures must become unstable or decentered. Moreover, post-structuralism is also concerned with the power structures or hegemonies and power and how these elements contribute to andor maintain structures to enforce hierarchy. Therefore, post-structural theory carries implications far beyond literary criticism. What Does Your Meaning Mean By questioning the process of developing meaning, post-structural theory strikes at the very heart of philosophy and reality and throws knowledge making into what Jacques Derrida called freeplay: The concept of centered structure. is contradictorily coherent. the concept of centered structure is in fact the concept of a freeplay which is constituted upon a fundamental immobility and a reassuring certitude, which is itself beyond the reach of the freeplay (qtd. in Richter, 878-879). Derrida first posited these ideas in 1966 at Johns Hopkins University, when he delivered ldquoStructure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciencesrdquo: Perhaps something has occurred in the history of the concept of structure that could be called an event, if this loaded word did not entail a meaning which it is precisely the function of structural-or structuralist-thought to reduce or to suspect. But let me use the term ldquoeventrdquo anyway, employing it with caution and as if in quotation marks. In this sense, this event will have the exterior form of a rupture and a redoublingrdquo (qtd. in Richter, 878). In his presentation, Derrida challenged structuralisms most basic ideas. Can Language Do That Post-structural theory can be tied to a move against ModernistEnlightenment ideas (philosophers: Immanuel Kant, Reacutene Descartes, John Locke, etc.) and Western religious beliefs (neo-Platonism, Catholicism, etc.). An early pioneer of this resistance was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In his essay, ldquoOn Truth and Lies in an Extra-moral Senserdquo (1873), Nietzsche rejects even the very basis of our knowledge making, language, as a reliable system of communication: ldquoThe various languages, juxtaposed, show that words are never concerned with truth, never with adequate expression. rdquo (248). Below is an example, adapted from the Tyson text, of some language freeplay and a simple form of deconstruction: Time (noun) flies (verb) like an arrow (adverb clause) Time passes quickly. Time (verb) flies (object) like an arrow (adverb clause) Get out your stopwatch and time the speed of flies as you would time an arrows flight. Time flies (noun) like (verb) an arrow (object) Time flies are fond of arrows (or at least of one particular arrow). So, post-structuralists assert that if we cannot trust language systems to convey truth, the very bases of truth are unreliable and the universe - or at least the universe we have constructed - becomes unraveled or de-centered. Nietzsche uses language slip as a base to move into the slip and shift of truth as a whole: ldquoWhat is truth helliptruths are an illusion about which it has been forgotten that they are illusions. rdquo (On Truth and Lies 250). This returns us to the discussion in the Structuralist area regarding signs, signifiers, and signified. Essentially, post-structuralism holds that we cannot trust the sign signifier signified formula, that there is a breakdown of certainty between signsignifier, which leaves language systems hopelessly inadequate for relaying meaning so that we are (returning to Derrida) in eternal freeplay or instability. Whats Left Important to note, however, is that deconstruction is not just about tearing down - this is a common misconception. Derrida, in Signature Event Context, addressed this limited view of post-structural theory: Deconstruction cannot limit or proceed immediately to a neutralization: it musthellippractice an overturning of the classical opposition and a general displacement of the system. It is only on this condition that deconstruction will provide itself the means with which to intervene in the field of oppositions that it criticizes, which is also a field of nondiscursive forces (328). Derrida reminds us that through deconstruction we can identify the in-betweens and the marginalized to begin interstitial knowledge building. Modernism vs Postmodernism With the resistance to traditional forms of knowledge making (science, religion, language), inquiry, communication, and building meaning take on different forms to the post-structuralist. We can look at this difference as a split between Modernism and Postmodernism. The table below, excerpted from theorist Ihab Hassans The Dismemberment of Orpheus (1998), offers us a way to make sense of some differences between modernism, dominated by Enlightenment ideas, and postmodernism, a space of freeplay and discourse. Keep in mind that even the author, Hassan, . is quick to point out how the dichotomies are themselves insecure, equivocal (Harvey 42). Though post-structuralism is uncomfortable with binaries, Hassan provides us with some interesting contrasts to consider: Modernism vs Postmodernism Post-Structuralism and Literature If we are questioningresisting the methods we use to build knowledge (science, religion, language), then traditional literary notions are also thrown into freeplay. These include the narrative and the author: The narrative is a fiction that locks readers into interpreting text in a single, chronological manner that does not reflect our experiences. Postmodern texts may not adhere to traditional notions of narrative. For example, in his seminal work, Naked Lunch . William S. Burroughs explodes the traditional narrative structure and critiques almost everything Modern: modern government, modern medicine, modern law-enforcement. Other examples of authors playing with narrative include John Fowles in the final sections of The French Lieutenants Woman . Fowles steps outside his narrative to speak with the reader directly. Moreover, grand narratives are resisted. For example, the belief that through science the human race will improve is questioned. In addition, metaphysics is questioned. Instead, postmodern knowledge building is local, situated, slippery, and self-critical (i. e. it questions itself and its role). Because post-structural work is self-critical, post-structural critics even look for ways texts contradict themselves (see typical questions below). The author is displaced as absolute author(ity), and the reader plays a role in interpreting the text and developing meaning (as best as possible) from the text. In ldquoThe Death of the Author, rdquo Roland Barthes argues that the idea of singular authorship is a recent phenomenon. Barthes explains that the death of the author shatters Modernist notions of authority and knowledge building (145). Lastly, he states that once the author is dead and the Modernist idea of singular narrative (and thus authority) is overturned, texts become plural, and the interpretation of texts becomes a collaborative process between author and audience: ldquo. a text is made of multiple writings, drawn from many cultures and entering into mutual relations of dialogue. but there is one place where this multiplicity is focused and that place is the readerrdquo (148). Barthes ends his essay by empowering the reader: ldquoClassical criticism has never paid any attention to the reader. the writer is the only person in literaturehellipit is necessary to overthrow the myth: the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Authorrdquo (148). How is language thrown into freeplay or questioned in the work For example, note how Anthony Burgess plays with language (Russian vs English) in A Clockwork Orange, or how Burroughs plays with names and language in Naked Lunch. How does the work undermine or contradict generally accepted truths How does the author (or a character) omit, change, or reconstruct memory and identity How does a work fulfill or move outside the established conventions of its genre How does the work deal with the separation (or lack thereof) between writer, work, and reader What ideology does the text seem to promote What is left out of the text that if included might undermine the goal of the work If we changed the point of view of the text - say from one character to another, or multiple characters - how would the story change Whose story is not told in the text Who is left out and why might the author have omitted this characters tale Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Immanuel Kant - An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment, 1784 (as a baseline to understand what Nietzsche was resisting) Friedrich Nietzsche - ldquoOn Truth and Lies in an Extra-moral Sense, 1873 The Gay Science . 1882 Thus Spoke Zarathustra, A Book for All and None . 1885 Jacques Derrida - Structure Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences, 1966 Of Grammatology . 1967 Signature Even Context, 1972 Roland Barthes - The Death of the Author, 1967 Deleuze and Guattari - Rhizome, 1976 Jean-Franccedilois Lyotard - The Postmodern Condition . 1979 Michele Foucault - The Foucault Reader . 1984 Stephen Toulmin - Cosmopolis . 1990 Martin Heidegger - Basic Writings, 1993 Paul Cilliers - Complexity and Postmodernity . 1998 Ihab Hassan - The Dismemberment of Orpheus . 1998 From Postmodernism to Postmodernity: The LocalGlobal Context . 2001 William S. Burroughs - Naked Lunch . 1959 Angela Carter - Burning Your Boats . stories from 1962-1993 (first published as a collection in 1995) Kathy Acker - Blood and Guts in High School . 1978 Paul Auster - City of Glass (volume one of the New York City Trilogy), 1985 (as a graphic novel published by Neon Lit, a division of Avon Books, 1994) Lynne Tillman - Haunted Houses . 1987 David Wojnarowicz - The Waterfront Journals . 1996 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. New Historicism, Cultural Studies (1980s-present) Its All Relative. This school, influenced by structuralist and post-structuralist theories, seeks to reconnect a work with the time period in which it was produced and identify it with the cultural and political movements of the time (Michel Foucaults concept of eacutepistegraveme). New Historicism assumes that every work is a product of the historic moment that created it. Specifically, New Historicism is . a practice that has developed out of contemporary theory, particularly the structuralist realization that all human systems are symbolic and subject to the rules of language, and the deconstructive realization that there is no way of positioning oneself as an observer outside the closed circle of textuality (Richter 1205). A helpful way of considering New Historical theory, Tyson explains, is to think about the retelling of history itself: . questions asked by traditional historians and by new historicists are quite different. traditional historians ask, What happened and What does the event tell us about history In contrast, new historicists ask, How has the event been interpreted and What do the interpretations tell us about the interpreters (278). So New Historicism resists the notion that . history is a series of events that have a linear, causal relationship: event A caused event B event B caused event C and so on (Tyson 278). New historicists do not believe that we can look at history objectively, but rather that we interpret events as products of our time and culture and that . we dont have clear access to any but the most basic facts of history. our understanding of what such facts mean. is. strictly a matter of interpretation, not fact (279). Moreover, New Historicism holds that we are hopelessly subjective interpreters of what we observe. What languagecharactersevents present in the work reflect the current events of the authorrsquos day Are there words in the text that have changed their meaning from the time of the writing How are such events interpreted and presented How are events interpretation and presentation a product of the culture of the author Does the works presentation support or condemn the event Can it be seen to do both How does this portrayal criticize the leading political figures or movements of the day How does the literary text function as part of a continuum with other historicalcultural texts from the same period. How can we use a literary work to map the interplay of both traditional and subversive discourses circulating in the culture in which that work emerged andor the cultures in which the work has been interpreted How does the work consider traditionally marginalized populations Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Michel Foucault - The Order of Things: An Archeology of the Human Sciences . 1970 Language, Counter-memory, Practice . 1977 Clifford Geertz - The Interpretation of Cultures . 1973 Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight, 1992 Hayden White - Metahistory . 1974 The Politics of Historical Interpretation: Discipline and De-Sublimation, 1982 Stephen Greenblatt - Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare . 1980 Pierre Bourdieu - Outline of a Theory of Practice . 1977 Homo Academicus . 1984 The Field of Cultural Production . 1993 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present) History is Written by the Victors Post-colonial criticism is similar to cultural studies, but it assumes a unique perspective on literature and politics that warrants a separate discussion. Specifically, post-colonial critics are concerned with literature produced by colonial powers and works produced by those who wereare colonized. Post-colonial theory looks at issues of power, economics, politics, religion, and culture and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony (western colonizers controlling the colonized). Therefore, a post-colonial critic might be interested in works such as Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe where colonial . ideology is manifest in Crusoes colonialist attitude toward the land upon which hes shipwrecked and toward the black man he colonizes and names Friday (Tyson 377). In addition, post-colonial theory might point out that . despite Heart of Darknesss (Joseph Conrad) obvious anti-colonist agenda, the novel points to the colonized population as the standard of savagery to which Europeans are contrasted (Tyson 375). Post-colonial criticism also takes the form of literature composed by authors that critique Euro-centric hegemony. A Unique Perspective on Empire Seminal post-colonial writers such as Nigerian author Chinua Achebe and Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiongo have written a number of stories recounting the suffering of colonized people. For example, in Things Fall Apart . Achebe details the strife and devastation that occurred when British colonists began moving inland from the Nigerian coast. Rather than glorifying the exploratory nature of European colonists as they expanded their sphere of influence, Achebe narrates the destructive events that led to the death and enslavement of thousands of Nigerians when the British imposed their Imperial government. In turn, Achebe points out the negative effects (and shifting ideas of identity and culture) caused by the imposition of western religion and economics on Nigerians during colonial rule. Power, Hegemony, and Literature Post-colonial criticism also questions the role of the western literary canon and western history as dominant forms of knowledge making. The terms first-world, second world, third world and fourth world nations are critiqued by post-colonial critics because they reinforce the dominant positions of western cultures populating first world status. This critique includes the literary canon and histories written from the perspective of first-world cultures. So, for example, a post-colonial critic might question the works included in the canon because the canon does not contain works by authors outside western culture. Moreover, the authors included in the canon often reinforce colonial hegemonic ideology, such as Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness . Western critics might consider Heart of Darkness an effective critique of colonial behavior. But post-colonial theorists and authors might disagree with this perspective: . as Chinua Achebe observes, the novels condemnation of European is based on a definition of Africans as savages: beneath their veneer of civilization, the Europeans are, the novel tells us, as barbaric as the Africans. And indeed, Achebe notes, the novel portrays Africans as a pre-historic mass of frenzied, howling, incomprehensible barbarians. (Tyson 374-375). How does the literary text, explicitly or allegorically, represent various aspects of colonial oppression What does the text reveal about the problematics of post-colonial identity, including the relationship between personal and cultural identity and such issues as double consciousness and hybridity What person(s) or groups does the work identify as other or stranger How are such personsgroups described and treated What does the text reveal about the politics andor psychology of anti-colonialist resistance What does the text reveal about the operations of cultural difference - the ways in which race, religion, class, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, and customs combine to form individual identity - in shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live How does the text respond to or comment upon the characters, themes, or assumptions of a canonized (colonialist) work Are there meaningful similarities among the literatures of different post-colonial populations How does a literary text in the Western canon reinforce or undermine colonialist ideology through its representation of colonialization andor its inappropriate silence about colonized peoples (Tyson 378-379) Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Edward Said - Orientalism . 1978 Culture and Imperialism . 1994 Kamau Brathwaite - The History of the Voice . 1979 Gayatri Spivak - In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics . 1987 Dominick LaCapra - The Bounds of Race: Perspectives on Hegemony and Resistance . 1991 Homi Bhabha - The Location of Culture . 1994 Literature and non-fiction Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart . 1958 Ngugi wa Thiongo - The River Between . 1965 Sembene Ousman - Gods Bits of Wood . 1962 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust . 1975 Buchi Emecheta - The Joys of Motherhood . 1979 Keri Hulme - The Bone People . 1983 Robertson Davies - Whats Bred in the Bone . 1985 Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day . 1988 Bharati Mukherjee - Jasmine . 1989 Jill Ker Conway - The Road from Coorain . 1989 Helena Norberg-Hodge - Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh . 1991 Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient . 1992 Gita Mehta - A River Sutra . 1993 Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things . 1997 Patrick Chamoiseau - Texaco . 1997 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Feminist Criticism (1960s-present) Feminist criticism is concerned with . the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women (Tyson). This school of theory looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated) and . this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women (Richter 1346). This misogyny, Tyson reminds us, can extend into diverse areas of our culture: Perhaps the most chilling example. is found in the world of modern medicine, where drugs prescribed for both sexes often have been tested on male subjects only (83). Feminist criticism is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of women writers from the traditional literary canon: . unless the critical or historical point of view is feminist, there is a tendency to under-represent the contribution of women writers (Tyson 82-83). Common Space in Feminist Theories Though a number of different approaches exist in feminist criticism, there exist some areas of commonality. This list is excerpted from Tyson: Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is other: she is marginalized, defined only by her difference from male norms and values All of western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for example, in the biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world While biology determines our sex (male or female), culture determines our gender (masculine or feminine) All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change the world by prompting gender equality Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not (91). Feminist criticism has, in many ways, followed what some theorists call the three waves of feminism: First Wave Feminism - late 1700s-early 1900s: writers like Mary Wollstonecraft ( A Vindication of the Rights of Women . 1792) highlight the inequalities between the sexes. Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull contribute to the womens suffrage movement, which leads to National Universal Suffrage in 1920 with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment Second Wave Feminism - early 1960s-late 1970s: building on more equal working conditions necessary in America during World War II, movements such as the National Organization for Women (NOW), formed in 1966, cohere feminist political activism. Writers like Simone de Beauvoir ( Le deuxiegraveme sexe . 1972) and Elaine Showalter established the groundwork for the dissemination of feminist theories dove-tailed with the American Civil Rights movement Third Wave Feminism - early 1990s-present: resisting the perceived essentialist (over generalized, over simplified) ideologies and a white, heterosexual, middle class focus of second wave feminism, third wave feminism borrows from post-structural and contemporary gender and race theories (see below) to expand on marginalized populations experiences. Writers like Alice Walker work to . reconcile it feminism with the concerns of the black community. and the survival and wholeness of her people, men and women both, and for the promotion of dialog and community as well as for the valorization of women and of all the varieties of work women perform (Tyson 97). How is the relationship between men and women portrayed What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming malefemale roles) How are male and female roles defined What constitutes masculinity and femininity How do characters embody these traits Do characters take on traits from opposite genders How so How does this change othersrsquo reactions to them What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy What does the work say about womens creativity What does the history of the works reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy What role the work play in terms of womens literary history and literary tradition (Tyson) Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Mary Wollstonecraft - A Vindication of the Rights of Women . 1792 Simone de Beauvoir - Le deuxiegraveme sexe . 1972 Julia Kristeva - About Chinese Women . 1977 Elaine Showalter - A Literature of Their Own . 1977 Toward a Feminist Poetics, 1979 Deborah E. McDowell - New Directions for Black Feminist Criticism, 1980 Alice Walker - In Search of Our Mothers Gardens . 1983 Lillian S. Robinson - Treason out Text: Feminist Challenges to the Literary Canon, 1983 Camile Paglia - Sexual Personae: The Androgyne in Literature and Art . 1990 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Gender Studies and Queer Theory (1970s-present) Gender(s), Power, and Marginalization Gender studies and queer theory explore issues of sexuality, power, and marginalized populations (woman as other) in literature and culture. Much of the work in gender studies and queer theory, while influenced by feminist criticism, emerges from post-structural interest in fragmented, de-centered knowledge building (Nietzsche, Derrida, Foucault), language (the breakdown of sign-signifier), and psychoanalysis (Lacan). A primary concern in gender studies and queer theory is the manner in which gender and sexuality is discussed: Effective as this work feminism was in changing what teachers taught and what the students read, there was a sense on the part of some feminist critics that. it was still the old game that was being played, when what it needed was a new game entirely. The argument posed was that in order to counter patriarchy, it was necessary not merely to think about new texts, but to think about them in radically new ways (Richter 1432). Therefore, a critic working in gender studies and queer theory might even be uncomfortable with the binary established by many feminist scholars between masculine and feminine: Cixous (following Derrida in Of Grammatology ) sets up a series of binary oppositions (activepassive, sunmoon. fathermother, logospathos). Each pair can be analyzed as a hierarchy in which the former term represents the positive and masculine and the latter the negative and feminine principle (Richter 1433-1434). In-Betweens Many critics working with gender and queer theory are interested in the breakdown of binaries such as male and female, the in-betweens (also following Derridas interstitial knowledge building). For example, gender studies and queer theory maintains that cultural definitions of sexuality and what it means to be male and female are in flux: . the distinction between masculine and feminine activities and behavior is constantly changing, so that women who wear baseball caps and fatigues. can be perceived as more piquantly sexy by some heterosexual men than those women who wear white frocks and gloves and look down demurely (Richter 1437). Moreover, Richter reminds us that as we learn more about our genetic structure, the biology of malefemale becomes increasingly complex and murky: even the physical dualism of sexual genetic structures and bodily parts breaks down when one considers those instances - XXY syndromes, natural sexual bimorphisms, as well as surgical transsexuals - that defy attempts at binary classification (1437). What elements of the text can be perceived as being masculine (active, powerful) and feminine (passive, marginalized) and how do the characters support these traditional roles What sort of support (if any) is given to elements or characters who question the masculinefeminine binary What happens to those elementscharacters What elements in the text exist in the middle, between the perceived masculinefeminine binary In other words, what elements exhibit traits of both (bisexual) How does the author present the text Is it a traditional narrative Is it secure and forceful Or is it more hesitant or even collaborative What are the politics (ideological agendas) of specific gay, lesbian, or queer works, and how are those politics revealed in. the works thematic content or portrayals of its characters What are the poetics (literary devices and strategies) of a specific lesbian, gay, or queer works What does the work contribute to our knowledge of queer, gay, or lesbian experience and history, including literary history How is queer, gay, or lesbian experience coded in texts that are by writers who are apparently homosexual What does the work reveal about the operations (socially, politically, psychologically) homophobic How does the literary text illustrate the problematics of sexuality and sexual identity, that is the ways in which human sexuality does not fall neatly into the separate categories defined by the words homosexual and heterosexual Here is a list of scholars we encourage you to explore to further your understanding of this theory: Luce Irigaray - Speculum of the Other Woman . 1974 Heacutelegravene Cixous - The Laugh of the Medussa, 1976 Laura Mulvey - Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, 1975 Afterthoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, 1981 Michele Foucault - The History of Sexuality . Volume I, 1980 Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick - Epistemology of the Closet . 1994 Lee Edelman - Homographies, 1989 Michael Warner Judith Butler - Imitation and Gender Insubordination, 1991 Contributors: Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins, Libby Chernouski, Elizabeth Boyle. Summary: This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Ecocriticism (1960-Present) Ecocriticism is an umbrella term under which a variety of approaches fall this can make it a difficult term to define. As ecocritic Lawrence Buell says, ecocriticism is an ldquoincreasingly heterogeneous movementrdquo (1). But, ldquosimply put, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environmentrdquo (Glotfelty xviii). Emerging in the 1980s on the shoulders of the environmental movement begun in the 1960s with the publication of Rachel Carsonrsquos Silent Spring . ecocriticism has been and continues to be an ldquoearth-centered approachrdquo (Glotfelty xviii) the complex intersections between environment and culture, believing that ldquohuman culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by itrdquo (Glotfelty xix). Ecocriticism is interdisciplinary, calling for collaboration between natural scientists, writers, literary critics, anthropologists, historians, and more. Ecocriticism asks us to examine ourselves and the world around us, critiquing the way that we represent, interact with, and construct the environment, both ldquonaturalrdquo and manmade. At the heart of ecocriticism, many maintain, is ldquoa commitment to environmentality from whatever critical vantage pointrdquo (Buell 11). The ldquochallengerdquo for ecocritics is ldquokeeping one eye on the ways in which lsquonaturersquo is always hellip culturally constructed, and the other on the fact that nature really existsrdquo (Gerrard 10). Similar to critical traditions examining gender and race, ecocriticism deals not only with the socially-constructed, often dichotomous categories we create for reality, but with reality itself. First and Second Waves Several scholars have divided Ecocriticism into two waves (Buell)(Glotfelty), recognizing the first as taking place throughout the eighties and nineties. The first wave is characterized by its emphasis on nature writing as an object of study and as a meaningful practice (Buell). Central to this wave and to the majority of ecocritics still today is the environmental crisis of our age, seeing it as the duty of both the humanities and the natural sciences to raise awareness and invent solutions for a problem that is both cultural and physical. As such, a primary concern in first-wave ecocriticism was to ldquospeak forrdquo nature (Buell 11). This is, perhaps, where ecocriticism gained its reputation as an ldquoavowedly political mode of analysisrdquo (Gerrard 3). This wave, unlike its successor, kept the cultural distinction between human and nature, promoting the value of nature. The second wave is particularly modern in its breaking down of some of the long-standing distinctions between the human and the non-human, questioning these very concepts (Gerrard 5). The boundaries between the human and the non-human, nature and non-nature are discussed as constructions, and ecocritics challenge these constructions, asking (among other things) how they frame the environmental crisis and its solution. This wave brought with it a redefinition of the term ldquoenvironment, rdquo expanding its meaning to include both ldquonaturerdquo and the urban (Buell 11). Out of this expansion has grown the ecojustice movement, one of the more political of ecocriticism branches that is ldquoraising an awareness of class, race, and gender through ecocritical reading of textrdquo (Bressler 236), often examining the plight of the poorest of a population who are the victims of pollution are seen as having less access to ldquonaturerdquo in the traditional sense. These waves are not exactly distinct, and there is debate over what exactly constitutes the two. For instance, some ecocritics will claim activism has been a defining feature of ecocriticism from the beginning, while others see activism as a defining feature of primarily the first wave. While the exact features attributed to each wave may be disputed, it is clear that Ecocriticism continues to evolve and has undergone several shifts in attitude and direction since its conception. Tropes and Approaches This trope, found in much British and American literature, focuses on the dichotomy between urban and rural life, is ldquodeeply entrenched in Western culturerdquo(Gerrard 33). At the forefront of works which display pastoralism is a general idealization of the nature and the rural and the demonization of the urban. Often, such works show a ldquoretreatrdquo from city life to the country while romanticizing rural life, depicting an idealized rural existence that ldquoobscuresrdquo the reality of the hard work living in such areas requires (Gerrard 33). Greg Gerrard identifies three branches of the pastoral: Classic Pastoral, ldquocharacterized by nostalgiardquo (37) and an appreciation of nature as a place for human relaxation and reflection Romantic Pastoral, a period after the Industrial Revolution that saw ldquorural independencerdquo as desirable against the expansion of the urban and American Pastoralism, which ldquoemphasized agrarianismrdquo (49) and represents land as a resource to be cultivated, with farmland often creating a boundary between the urban and the wilderness. An interesting focus for many ecocritics is the way that wilderness is represented in literature and popular culture. This approach examines the ways in which wilderness is constructed, valued, and engaged. Representations of wilderness in British and American culture can be separated into a few main tropes. First, Old World wilderness displays wilderness as a place beyond the borders of civilization, wherein wilderness is treated as a ldquothreat, rdquo a place of ldquoexilerdquo (Gerrard 62). This trope can be seen in Biblical tales of creation and early British culture. Old World wilderness is often conflated with demonic practices in early American literature (Gerrard 62). New World wilderness, seen in portrayals of wilderness in later American literature, applies the pastoral trope of the ldquoretreatrdquo to wilderness itself, seeing wilderness not as a place to fear, but as a place to find sanctuary. The New World wilderness trope has informed much of the ldquoAmerican identity, rdquo and often constructs encounters with the wilderness that lead to a more ldquoauthentic existencerdquo (Gerrard 71). As a branch of ecocriticism, ecofeminism primarily ldquoanalyzes the interconnection of the oppression of women and naturerdquo (Bressler 236). Drawing parallels between domination of land and the domination of men over women, ecofeminists examine these hierarchical, gendered relationships, in which the land is often equated with the feminine, seen as a fertile resources and the property of man. The ecofeminism approach can be divided into two camps. The first, sometimes referred to as radical ecofeminism, reverses the patriarchal domination of man over woman and nature, ldquoexalting nature, rdquo the non-human, and the emotionalrdquo (Gerrard 24). This approach embraces the idea that women are inherently closer to nature biologically, spiritually, and emotionally. The second camp, which followed the first historically, maintains that there is no such thing as a ldquofeminine essencerdquo that would make women more likely to connect with nature (Gerrard 25). Of course, ecofeminism is a highly diverse and complex branch, and many writers have undertaken the job of examining the hierarchical relationships structured in our cultural representations of nature and of women and other oppressed groups. In particular, studies regarding race have followed in this trend, identifying groups that have been historically seen as somehow closer to nature. The way Native Americans, for instance, have been described as ldquoprimitiverdquo and portrayed as ldquodwelling in harmony with nature, rdquo despite facts to the contrary. Gerrard offers an examination of this trope, calling it the Ecological Indian (Gerrard 120). Similar studies regarding representations and oppression of aboriginals have surfaced, highlighting the misconceptions of these peoples as somehow ldquobehindrdquo Europeans, needing to progress from ldquoa natural to a civilized staterdquo (Gerrard 125). Typical Questions Taking an ecocritical approach to a topic means asking questions not only of a primary source such as literature, but asking larger questions about cultural attitudes towards and definitions of nature. Generally, ecocriticism can be applied to a primary source by either interpreting a text through an ecocritical lens, with an eye towards nature, or examining an ecocritical trope within the text. The questions below are examples of questions you might ask both when working with a primary source and when developing a research question that might have a broader perspective. How is nature represented in this text How has the concept of nature changed over time How is the setting of the playfilmtext related to the environment What is the influence on metaphors and representations of the land and the environment on how we treat it How do we see issues of environmental disaster and crises reflected in popular culture and literary works How are animals represented in this text and what is their relationship to humans How do the roles or representations of men and women towards the environment differ in this playfilmtextetc. Where is the environment placed in the power hierarchy How is nature empowered or oppressed in this work What parallels can be drawn between the sufferings and oppression of groups of people (women, minorities, immigrants, etc.) and treatment of the land What rhetorical moves are used by environmentalists, and what can we learn from them about our cultural attitudes towards nature There are many more questions than these to be asked, and a large variety of approaches already exist that are asking different questions. Do some research to check on the state of ecocritical discussion in your own area of interest. Further Resources There are many more approaches to analyzing interactions between culture and nature, many of which are interdisciplinary. The following texts are recommended to help you start exploring other avenues of Ecocriticsm. Theory and Criticism Lawrence Buell - ldquo The Environmental Imagination : Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture rdquo (1995) and ldquoToxic Discourse, rdquo 1998 Charles Bressler - Literary criticism: an introduction to theory and practice . 1999 Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm ndash The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology . (1996) Greg Garrard ndash Ecocriticism . 2004 Donna Haraway - A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century, (1991) ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (Journal) Joseph Makus - The Comedy of Survival: literary ecology and a play ethic, (1972) Leo Marx ndash The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America . (1964) Raymond Williams - The Country and The City . (1975) Literature amp Literary Figures Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968) Appalachian Wilderness (1970) The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) Mary Hunter Austin A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There (1949) This resource will help you begin the process of understanding literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy. Critical Race Theory (1970s-present) Introduction Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is a theoretical and interpretive mode that examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural modes of expression. In adopting this approach, CRT scholars attempt to understand how victims of systemic racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how they are able to represent themselves to counter prejudice. Closely connected to such fields as philosophy, history, sociology, and law, CRT scholarship traces racism in America through the nationrsquos legacy of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and recent events. In doing so, it draws from work by writers like Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, W. E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others studying law, feminism, and post-structuralism. CRT developed into its current form during the mid-1970s with scholars like Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard Delgado, who responded to what they identified as dangerously slow progress following Civil Rights in the 1960s. Prominent CRT scholars like Kimberleacute Crenshaw, Mari Matsuda, and Patricia Williams share an interest in recognizing racism as a quotidian component of American life (manifested in textual sources like literature, film, law, etc). In doing so, they attempt to confront the beliefs and practices that enable racism to persist while also challenging these practices in order to seek liberation from systemic racism. As such, CRT scholarship also emphasizes the importance of finding a way for diverse individuals to share their experiences. However, CRT scholars do not only locate an individualrsquos identity and experience of the world in his or her racial identifications, but also their membership to a specific class, gender, nation, sexual orientation, etc. They read these diverse cultural texts as proof of the institutionalized inequalities racialized groups and individuals experience every day. As Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic explain in their introduction to the third edition of Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge . ldquoOur social world, with its rules, practices, and assignments of prestige and power, is not fixed rather, we construct with it words, stories and silence. But we need not acquiesce in arrangements that are unfair and one-sided. By writing and speaking against them, we may hope to contribute to a better, fairer worldrdquo (3). In this sense, CRT scholars seek tangible, real-world ends through the intellectual work they perform. This contributes to many CRT scholarsrsquo emphasis on social activism and transforming everyday notions of race, racism, and power. More recently, CRT has contributed to splinter groups focused on Asian American, Latino, and Indian racial experiences. Common Questions What is the significance of race in contemporary American society Where, in what ways, and to what ends does race appear in dominant American culture and shape the ways we interact with one another What types of texts and other cultural artifacts reflect dominant culturersquos perceptions of race How can scholars convey that racism is a concern that affects all members of society How does racism continue to function as a persistent force in American society How can we combat racism to ensure that all members of American society experience equal representation and access to fundamental rights How can we accurately reflect the experiences of victims of racism Why Use This Approach As we can see, adopting a CRT approach to literature or other modes of cultural expression includes much more than simply identifying race, racism, and racialized characters in fictional works. Rather, it (broadly) emphasizes the importance of examining and attempting to understand the socio-cultural forces that shape how we and others perceive, experience, and respond to racism. These scholars treat literature, legal documents, and other cultural works as evidence of American culturersquos collective values and beliefs. In doing so, they trace racism as a dually theoretical and historical experience that affects all members of a community regardless of their racial affiliations or identifications. Most CRT scholarship attempts to demonstrate not only how racism continues to be a pervasive component throughout dominant society, but also why this persistent racism problematically denies individuals many of the constitutional freedoms they are otherwise promised in the United Statesrsquo governing documents. This enables scholars to locate how texts develop in and through the cultural contexts that produced them, further demonstrating how pervasive systemic racism truly is. CRT scholars typically focus on both the evidence and the origins of racism in American culture, seeking to eradicate it at its roots. Additionally, because CRT advocates attending to the various components that shape individual identity, it offers a way for scholars to understand how race interacts with other identities like gender and class. As scholars like Crenshaw and Willams have shown, CRT scholarship can and should be amenable to adopting and adapting theories from related fields like womenrsquos studies, feminism, and history. In doing so, CRT has evolved over the last decades to address the various concerns facing individuals affected by racism. Interestingly, CRT scholarship does not only draw attention to and address the concerns of individual affected by racism, but also those who perpetrate and are seemingly unaffected by racial prejudice. Scholars like W. E.B. Du Bois, Peggy McIntosh, Cheryl Harris, and George Lipsitz discuss white privilege and notions of whiteness throughout history to better understand how American culture conceptualizes race (or the seeming absence of race). Important Terms White privilege: Discussed by Lipsitz, Lee, Harris, McIntosh, and other CRT scholars, white privilege refers to the various social, political, and economic advantages white individuals experience in contrast to non-white citizens based on their racial membership. These advantages can include both obvious and subtle differences in access to power, social status, experiences of prejudice, educational opportunities, and much more. For CRT scholars, the notion of white privilege offers a way to discuss dominant culturersquos tendency to normalize white individualsrsquo experiences and ignore the experiences of non-whites. Fields such as CRT and whiteness studies have focused explicitly on the concept of white privilege to understand how racism influences white people. Microaggressions . Microaggressions refer to the seemingly minute, often unconscious, quotidian instances of prejudice that collectively contribute to racism and the subordination of racialized individuals by dominant culture. Peggy Davis discusses how legal discourse participates in and can counteract the effects of microaggressions. Institutionalized Racism . This concept, discussed extensively by Camara Phyllis Jones, refers to the systemic ways dominant society restricts a racialized individual or grouprsquos access to opportunities. These inequalities, which include an individualrsquos access to material conditions and power, are not only deeply imbedded in legal institutions, but have been absorbed into American culture to such a degree that they are often invisible or easily overlooked. Social construction . In the context of CRT, ldquosocial constructionrdquo refers to the notion that race is a product of social thought and relations. It suggests that race is a product of neither biology nor genetics, but is rather a social invention. Intersectionality and anti-essentialism . These terms refer to the notion that one aspect of an individualrsquos identity does not necessarily determine other categories of membership. As Delgado and Stefancic explain, ldquoEveryone has potentially conflicting, overlapping identities, loyalties, and allegiancesrdquo ( CRT: An Introduction 10). In other words, we cannot predict an individualrsquos identity, beliefs, or values based on categories like race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc instead, we must recognize that individuals are capable of claiming membership to a variety of different (and oftentimes seemingly contradictory) categories and belief systems regardless of the identities outsiders attempt to impose upon them. Works Cited Delgado, Richard and Jean Stefancic. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction . 2 nd ed. New York: New York University Press, 2012. Delgado, Richard and Jean Stefancic, eds. Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge. 3 rd ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2013. Print. Recommended Sources for Additional Research Bell, Derrick A. ldquoWhorsquos Afraid of Critical Race Theoryrdquo University of Illinois Law Review 4 (1995): 893-910. Crenshaw, Kimberleacute, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas, eds. Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement. New York: The New Press, 1995 Davis, Peggy. ldquoLaw as Microaggression. rdquo Yale Law Journal 98 (1989): 1559-1577. Gates, Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African American Literary Criticism . New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Harris, Cheryl. ldquoWhiteness as Property. rdquo Harvard Law Review 106.8 (1993): 1707-1791. hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From the Margins to the Center. Boston: South End Press, 1984. Lipsitz, George. The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics . Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Spillers, Hortense. ldquoMamarsquos Baby, Paparsquos Maybe: An American Grammar Book. rdquo Diacritics 17.2 (1987): 64-81. Williams, Patricia. Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race. New York: Noonday Press, 1998. Copyright copy1995-2017 by The Writing Lab amp The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. Tous les droits sont réservés. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use .
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