{"product_id":"literary-criticism-an-autopsy-paperback","title":"Literary Criticism: An Autopsy - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMark Bauerlein\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the study of literature has extended to cultural contexts, critics have developed a language all their own. Yet, argues Mark Bauerlein, scholars of literature today are so unskilled in pertinent sociohistorical methods that they compensate by adopting cliches and catchphrases that serve as substitutes for information and logic. Thus by labeling a set of ideas an \"ideology\" they avoid specifying those ideas, or by saying that someone \"essentializes\" a concept they convey the air of decisive refutation. As long as a paper is generously sprinkled with the right words, clarification is deemed superfluous. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBauerlein contends that such usages only serve to signal political commitments, prove membership in subgroups, or appeal to editors and tenure committees, and that current textual practices are inadequate to the study of culture and politics they presume to undertake. His book discusses 23 commonly encountered terms--from \"deconstruction\" and \"gender\" to \"problematize\" and \"rethink\"--and offers a diagnosis of contemporary criticism through their analysis. He examines the motives behind their usage and the circumstances under which they arose and tells why they continue to flourish. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA self-styled \"handbook of counterdisciplinary usage,\" \u003ci\u003eLiterary Criticism: An Autopsy\u003c\/i\u003e shows how the use of illogical, unsound, or inconsistent terms has brought about a breakdown in disciplinary focus. It is an insightful and entertaining work that challenges scholars to reconsider their choice of words--and to eliminate many from critical inquiry altogether.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the study of literature has extended to cultural contexts, critics have developed a language all their own. Yet, argues Mark Bauerlein, scholars of literature today are so unskilled in pertinent sociohistorical methods that they compensate by adopting cliches and catchphrases that serve as substitutes for information and logic. Thus by labeling a set of ideas an \"ideology\" they avoid specifying those ideas, or by saying that someone \"essentializes\" a concept they convey the air of decisive refutation. As long as a paper is generously sprinkled with the right words, clarification is deemed superfluous. Bauerlein contends that such usages only serve to signal political commitments, prove membership in subgroups, or appeal to editors and tenure committees, and that current textual practices are inadequate to the study of culture and politics they presume to undertake. His book discusses 23 commonly encountered terms - from \"deconstruction\" and \"gender\" to \"problematize\" and \"rethink\" - and offers a diagnosis of contemporary criticism through their analysis. A self-styled \"handbook of counterdisciplinary usage\", Literary Criticism: An Autopsy shows how the use of illogical, unsound, or inconsistent terms has brought about a breakdown in disciplinary focus. It is an insightful and entertaining work that challenges scholars to reconsider their choice of words - and to eliminate many from critical inquiry altogether.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eMark Bauerlein is Professor of English at Emory University. He is editor of The Turning World: American Literary Modernism and Continental Theory, by Joseph Riddel, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press, and author of Whitman and the American Idiom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 176\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 8.4 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 01, 1997\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50392652906733,"sku":"9780812216257","price":40.43,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/8918\/9441\/files\/Wx60s2_yll9780812216257.webp?v=1785828526","url":"https:\/\/www.webster.direct\/products\/literary-criticism-an-autopsy-paperback","provider":"Webster.Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}