Critical Terms – Experiments in Criticism

Representation

W.J.T. Mitchell’s article on “Representation” in Critical Terms for Literary Study begins with this observation. Man, for many philosophers both ancient and modern, is the “representational animal,” homo symbolicum, the creature whose distinctive character is the creation and manipulation of signs—things that “stand for” or “take the place of” something else. For Christians, human beingsContinue reading “Representation”

Values and Language

From the introduction to the University of Chicago Press’s Critical Terms for Literary Study: Theory isn’t difficult out of spite. It is difficult because it has proceeded on the premise that language itself ought to be its focus of attention; that ordinary language is an embodiment of an extremely powerful and usually unquestioned system ofContinue reading “Values and Language”

Critical Terms: Literary History

This is the fourth of a series of weekly posts on the book Critical Terms for Literary Study. In his survey of the term “literary history” Lee Patterson poses this question: what exactly is the relationship between literature and history? His survey shows that in the 19th Century, history was held to be “objective” and literatureContinue reading “Critical Terms: Literary History”

Critical Terms: Author

This is the third of a series of weekly posts on the book Critical Terms for Literary Study. Donald Pease begins his overview of this crucial term with five questions that he argues are connected to the term’s definition. Is an individual self-determined or determined by material and historical circumstances? Is the human self infinite orContinue reading “Critical Terms: Author”

Critical Terms: Representation

This is the second of a series of weekly posts on the book Critical Terms for Literary Study. W.J.T. Mitchell begins his survey of the term “representation” by observing the truism that literature represents life. As such, the concept of representation has long been a problem IN literature and a problem FOR the study of literature.Continue reading “Critical Terms: Representation”

No Neutrality: Critical Terms for Literary Study

This is the first of a series of weekly posts on the book Critical Terms for Literary Study. The Preface and Introduction to Critical Terms for Literary Study make one thing clear. You can’t be neutral in literary study. I agree. The Preface and Introduction also reject the idea that “divine fiat” has anything toContinue reading “No Neutrality: Critical Terms for Literary Study”