Critics at Work

Interviews 1993-2003

Jeffrey J. Williams

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780814793909
• eBook ISBN: 9780814795194
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism Theory
• Index: Literature

Featuring interviews with nineteen leading U.S. literary and cultural critics, Critics at Work offers a unique picture of recent developments in literary studies, critical theory, American studies, gay and lesbian studies, philosophy, and other fields. It provides informative, timely, and often provocative commentary on a broad range of topics, from the state of theory today and the prospects for cultural studies to the role of public intellectuals and the place of political activism. These conversations also elicit illuminating and sometimes surprising insights into the personal and professional lives of its contributors.
Individually, each interview gives a significant overview of a critic's work. Taken together, they provide an assessment of literary and cultural studies from the establishment of theory and its diffusion, in recent years, into various cultural and identity studies. In addition to the interviews themselves, the volume includes useful short introductions to each critic's work and biography.
Interviewees: K. Anthony Appiah, Lauren Berlant, Cathy Davidson, Morris Dickstein, Stanley Fish, Barbara Foley, Nancy Fraser, Gerald Graff, Alice Kaplan, E. Ann Kaplan, Robin D.G. Kelley, Paul Lauter, Louis Menand, Richard Ohmann, Andrew Ross, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Jane Tompkins, Marianna Torgovnick, and Alan Wald.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Introduction: The Talk of Criticism
• 1 Stanley Agonistes: An Interview with Stanley Fish
• 2 Writing in Concert: An Interview with Cathy Davidson, Alice Kaplan, Jane Tompkins, and Marianna Torgovnick
• 3 Only Connect: An Interview with Gerald Graff
• 4 English in America Revisited: An Interview with Richard Ohmann
• 5 Between Generations: An Interview with Morris Dickstein
• 6 New New York Intellectual: An Interview with Louis Menand
• 7 Canon and Curriculum: An Interview with Paul Lauter
• 8 Instituting Cultural Studies: An Interview with E. Ann Kaplan
• 9 Theory into Practice: An Interview with Barbara Foley
• 10 From the Left: An Interview with Alan Wald
• 11 Politics and Philosophy: An Interview with Nancy Fraser
• 12 The Worldly Philosopher: An Interview with K. Anthony Appiah
• 13 Sedgwick Unplugged: An Interview with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
• 14 Citizen Berlant: An Interview with Lauren Berlant
• 15 Undisciplined: An Interview with Andrew Ross
• 16 History and Hope: An Interview with Robin D. G. Kelley
• About the Editor