Also while we're on the subject: Ian Watt's _The Rise of the Novel_ is, IMHO, the best telling of the founding story of the sociology of literature, the relation between the rise of the novel and the rise of the bourgeoisie. Not avowedly Marxist, but pleasurable and precise -- an idea on every page.
Also BTW, Terry Eagleton wrote a primer for undergraduates in 1976 called _Marxism and Literary Criticism_. It's very short -- the length of a long journal article -- and provides a clear and concise introduction and overview for someone just starting out. At least I found it helpful 20 years ago. It has no trace of the turgidity or long-windedness found in some of Eagelton's later writing.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com