- Home
- literary criticism
- Rationality Is . . . The Essence of Literary Theory
Rationality Is . . . The Essence of Literary Theory
by Norm Klassen
Imprint: Cascade Books
A culturally influential sub-discipline within literary studies, literary theory has developed in parallel form in other arts and social science disciplines, so that one might refer to "cultural theory" or "social theory" as well, or even just to "theory." It's as familiar as the word "postmodern" and as tricky as "deconstruction." What is it about? What is at stake?
Theory is about rationality. This book's title invites two different interpretations of what it might mean to say so. For many, the essence of literary theory is the unmasking and redescription of rationality in other terms. Put ironically, rationality is male; rationality is white; rationality is repression....
The book's title, however, can also be read in a second way. On this reading, rationality itself is the essence of literary theory and central to literature, art, and society. Certain conceptions of what it entails can be problematic; the critique in the first way of reading the title remains relevant. Yet one can affirm rationality as integral to human flourishing, including the processes of producing, analyzing, and enjoying literature, art, and culture.
This book provides readers with a clear overview of theory's development and the abiding presence of its concern with the status of rationality across its forms.
Norm Klassen, Professor of English at St Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Canada, is a literary critic who researches and publishes at the intersections of literature, art, and intellectual history.
“Klassen invites readers of all academic backgrounds to broaden their understanding of rationality, distilling abstract theoretical notions into the cultural soil of our times. Using the lens of literature, with thoughtful and wide-ranging ideas, we are shown that rationality is not relegated to mathematics or the sciences but belongs to all of us.”
—Satyan L. Devadoss, Fletcher Jones Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of San Diego
“Norm Klassen’s book is a remarkable achievement. It offers a benevolent presentation of mainstream literary criticism together with a bold, insightful, and coherent defense of rationality in the Western tradition. This certainly requires a deep and sophisticated understanding of how literature reveals the intelligibility of everything that there is. This didactical introduction helps students not only to appreciate the relevance of contemporary literary criticism but also to rediscover the authentic joy of reading.”
—Mátyás Szalay, director, Edith Stein Philosophy Institute
“Is the reach for rationality a Platonic binding to the ideal or a Faustian pact with darkness? At a moment when the idea of rationality appears suspect from all camps threatening to tear asunder our social fabric, Klassen’s treatise redeems an integral element of what makes us human. Accessible to a broad readership and saturated with close readings, this book is nothing short of an apologia for the arts and humanities.”
—Charles Stankievech, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
Related Titles
