Framing Theory’s Empire As the Theory Era draws to a close, we need more than ever intelligent rumination and debate over what it all meant. Theory’s Empire was an important step in that direc- tion. Framing Theory’s Empire carries on the conversation with sophistication and flair. —Denis Dutton, editor, Philosophy & Literature It’s rare for authors to have their work be the object of a lengthy, detailed, serious and live - ly dialogue shortly after its publication. John Holbo’s commitment to using the Internet as an instrument for bringing about precise- ly such a dialogue is a wonderful example of how new technologies can enhance the quali - ty of our intellectual exchanges. And to make that lively dialogue be the object of another book, on-line and in hard copy, is a further contribution. —Daphne Patai, editor, Theory’s Empire Glassbead Books Edited by John Holbo Framing Theory’s Empire started life as a “book event”—an online, roundtable-style symposium on Theory’s Empire (Columbia UP, 2005). Two dozen contributors offered reviews, criticism, and commentary. Now in book form, it includes a preface by Scott McLemee and afterthoughts from Theory’s Empire’s editors. Mark Bauerlein Michael Bérubé Timothy Burke Chris Cagle Christopher Conway Will H. Corral Jodi Dean Brad DeLong Morris Dickstein John Emerson Jonathan Goodwin Daniel Green Matt Greenfield John Holbo Mark Kaplan Scott Eric Kaufman Adam Kotsko Kathleen Lowrey Jonathan Mayhew Sean McCann Scott McLemee John McGowan Daphne Patai Kenneth Rufo Amardeep Sing Jeffrey Wallen Parlor Press 816 Robinson Street West Lafayette, IN 47906 www.parlorpress.com ISBN 978-1-60235-015-1 Framing Theory ’ s Empire Holbo Parlor Press  Glassbead Books John Holbo, Editor [...]... v 2.0,” at the 2006 Annual MLA Conference The text of my talk is available here Introduction xix Framing Theory’s Empire  1 Review of Theory’s Empire 1 Mark Bauerlein This spring [2005], Columbia University Press published an anthology of literary and cultural theory, a 700-page tome entitled Theory’s Empire and edited by Daphne Patai and Will Corral The collection includes essays dating back 30 years,... responded: they make a nice, contrastive pair—Mark holding out for the great good of Theory’s Empire, as clarion wake-up call blown in the ear of the drowsy likes Introduction xvii of The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism; Michael doing his best to update Voltaire: theory’s empire is neither theory’s nor an empire. ’ John McGowan made an early post as well, taking a similar line Anyone wanting... about books about methods of reading books That would be putting things in a straightforward way But in fact to frame Framing Theory’s Empire more precisely, we’d need to note that it is a volume of texts originally prepared for digital publication in response to a hefty anthology, Theory’s Empire, which consisted of reprinted texts from (paper-and-ink) journals and essay collections That anthology in turn... xviii John Holbo cident that Nussbaum’s piece doesn’t actually appear in Theory’s Empire (Daphne Patai tells me they tried, but it didn’t work out.) I responded to John, in a post tangled up with more general issues: I’ve teased that specific thread of response out and included it as a final entry And I would like to thank the Theory’s Empire editors, Daphne Patai and Will H Corral, for contributing an... Contents 40 Nussbaum v Butler, Footnotes John Holbo 206 V 41 Afterword Daphne Patai & Will H Corral 211 Appendix: Links, Comments, and Context 227 Contributors 233 xi Preface: Framing Framing Theory’s Empire 1 Scott McLemee The book now in your hands is the product (and/or simulacrum) of an online seminar It consists of a few rounds of debate, tangential amplification, and afterthought—making... Bérubé Today, it’s time to get back to Mark Bauerlein’s Butterflies and Wheels essay on Theory’s Empire But first, the bad news: as hideously long as this post is (over 3500 words, nearly Holbovian in heft), this is only a warm-up I’ve agreed to participate in The Valve’s distributed-intelligence review of Theory’s Empire sometime between July 12 and July 14, and I told John Holbo that I would confine... Anthology of Theory and Criticism, the very title of which marks it as embedded in a kind of “branded” intertextuality we could spend no little time unpacking Furthermore, it may bear mentioning that Framing Theory’s Empire unlike the other volumes it devolves from, or sublates, or interstitially situates—is being made available as an ebook that can be downloaded for free This is not a small point Its significance... scientists, and public intellectuals who question Theory’s logical and empirical contents and diagnose its institutional status, gathered into a single, course-friendly volume, will restore some respect and vigor to the field The second thoughts of preeminent theorists of the past are inadequate, and we require more to make metacriticism interesting once again Theory’s Empire is a start It is weighty enough to... in five years? In fifty? How will it mark the experience of reading? Of writing? Of interpretation or disputation? Prophecy is a dangerous line of work I’m glad to see that the contributors to Framing Theory’s Empire avoid it—even while remaining quite aware, it often seems, that the longstanding arguments in the neighborhood of literary analysis are now a bit tired, if also hard to transcend Before... Reread this passage slowly if you want to figure out what’s going on The first sentence tells us that theory’s value is heading south, and the anthologies mask this fact; the second tells us that the masking itself gives us the right impression, and the third that theory’s prestige is as strong as ever Theory’s value, then, remains high in the humanities—but only because the humanities as a whole have . Theory’s Empire Glassbead Books Edited by John Holbo Framing Theory’s Empire started life as a “book event”—an online, roundtable-style symposium on Theory’s. 978-1-60235-015-1 Framing Theory ’ s Empire Holbo Parlor Press  Glassbead Books John Holbo, Editor