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The
Ends of Theory
Edited by Jerry Herron, Dorothy Hudson, Ross J. Pudaloff, and Robert M. Strozier
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Featuring
diverse disciplines and including creative as well as critical work, The
Ends of Theory both exemplifies the impact
of critical theory and questions its future. For years many scholars believed
the epoch of literary critical theory was over. Literary historians, new
critics, and political activists were widely opposed to it and argued that
the whole enterprise of critical theory should be abandoned, claiming it
was misguided. Yet theory survived, albeit in different forms.
The 16 essays in this anthology reflect on the nature
and purpose of theoretical work in the humanities and succeed in bridging
critical and creative production. Examining the practice of critical theorists
such as Edward Said, Paul De Man, Naomi Schor, and Gilles Deleuze,
The Ends of Theory explores
the relation of theory to history, political representation, cultural studies,
graphic art, and poetic practices. |
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"Provides
a very useful, richly articulate rendering of where three decades of debate
about theory now leaves literary studies. Its theorizing should make it
almost impossible for there to be much more talk about the end of theory,
and its specific textual analyses offer important exempla for what now seem
the most promising directions for literary work, especially through the
powerful closing section's engagements with postmodern writing."—Charles
Altieri, University of California, Berkeley. |
