The Critical Pulse

by Williams, Jeffrey J.; Steffen, Heather

• ISBN13: 9780231161152
• ISBN10: 0231161158
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-23
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

This unprecedented anthology asks thirty-six leading literary and cultural critics to elaborate on the nature of their profession. With the humanities feeling the pinch of financial and political pressures, and its disciplines resting on increasingly uncertain conceptual ground, there couldn't be a better time for critics to reassert their widespread relevance and purpose. These credos boldly defend the function of criticism in contemporary society and showcase its vitality in the era after theory. Essays address literature and politics, with some focusing on the sorry state of higher education and others concentrating on teaching and the fate of the humanities. All reflect the critics' personal, particular experiences. Deeply personal and engaging, these stories move, amuse, and inspire, ultimately encouraging the reader to develop his or her own critical credo with which to approach the world. Reflecting on the past, looking forward to the future, and committed to the power of productive critical thought, this volume proves the value of criticism for today's skeptical audiences.

Author Biography

Jeffrey J. Williams is professor of English and literary and cultural studies at Carnegie Mellon University. His books include Theory and the Novel: Narrative Reflexivity in the English Tradition; PC Wars: Politics and Theory in the Academy; The Institution of Literature; and Critics at Work: Interviews. He is also a former editor of the minnesota review and coedits the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Heather steffen is a Ph.D. candidate in literary and cultural studies at Carnegie Mellon University. She is working on a dissertation about academic labor and criticism of the university in the Progressive Era.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Criticism in a Difficult Time	p. 1
A Critic's Progress
The Case for Scholarly-Reporting	p. 13
Declarations of Independence	p. 20
On Critique and Inheritance	p. 27
What I Believe and Why	p. 33
Hearing Losses and Gains	p. 42
Long Island Intellectual	p. 50
Academic Labor
We Work	p. 59
What Is Criticism on Academic Labor For?	p. 67
"All Things Visible and Invisible": Believing in Higher Education	p. 74
Against Heroism	p. 82
Pack Consciousness	p. 87
Declarations of Politics
Activism and Curriculum	p. 95
Revolutionary Consciousness	p. 101
Geopolitical Translators	p. 107
Critical Credo	p. 115
This I Believed	p. 121
"Hope Dies Last": Cultural Studies and Studs Terkel	p. 129
Pedagogical Moments
Credo of a Teacher	p. 137
Of Credos and Credibility	p. 140
Teaching Friction	p. 146
Coerced Confessions	p. 151
On Race and Literature	p. 157
Teaching Theory	p. 164
Affect Is the New Trauma	p. 173
The Defense of Literature
Access to the Universal: Language, Literature, and the Humanities	p. 183
Wrestling with the Angel: A Modest Critical Credo	p. 188
Everyday Aesthetics	p. 193
Criticism Is Vital	p. 202
Critical Credo	p. 208
Why I'm Still Writing Women's Literary History	p. 217
New Turns
Without Evidence	p. 229
All There Is to Use	p. 237
Open	p. 245
Timing	p. 252
The Politics of Small Problems	p. 257
The Power of Unknowing	p. 264
List of Contributors	p. 271
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