It can take a while to figure out the major authors and theories in an academic discipline. Certain kinds of books (handbooks, companions, readers, encyclopedias) can be helpful for finding your way.
Here are 3 examples of these kinds of sources.
Feminist Theory Reader by Carole Mccann; Seung-Kyung Kim
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ISBN: 9781135073848
Publication Date: 2013-06-07
(Available online)
The third edition of the "Feminist Theory Reader" anthologizes the important classical and contemporary works of feminist theory within a multiracial transnational framework.
Debates in Transgender, Queer, and Feminist Theory: Contested Sites by Patricia Elliot
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ISBN: 9781409403937
Publication Date: 2010
(Available online)
The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory by Noreen Giffney (Editor); Michael O'Rourke
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ISBN: 9780754671350
Publication Date: 2009
(Available as a print book)
The Routledge Queer Studies Reader by Donald E. Hall (Editor); Annamarie Jagose (Editor)
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ISBN: 0415564107
Publication Date: 2012
(Available as a print book)
This book traces the emergence and development of Queer Studies as a field of scholarship, presenting key critical essays alongside more recent criticism that explores new directions.