Literary Criticism

"Writing only leads to more writing." — Colette

Drunk Dialer’s Ballad: Drinking in 20th Century American Short Fiction
A drunk dialer’s ballad for the 20th century.
Caroll Sun YangMar 11, 2015
- Literary Criticism
Reading as Kissing, Sex with Ideas: “Lesbian” Barebacking?
“In fact, if there were time, we could rehearse how the sign “lesbian” has functioned historically as a bold estranging force, breeding estrangements with every use: Who is a lesbian? What do they do? Can it be sex?”
Kathryn Bond StocktonMar 8, 2015
- Gender & Sexuality
- Literary Criticism
An African American Life?
“However magesterially this biography conventionalizes Brown’s life, it does so at some potential cost to Brown’s anomalousness.”
Jordan Alexander SteinFeb 12, 2015
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Criticism
What Is an @uthor?
It’s clear that our media today capture and contain authorial presence with unprecedented levels of abundance. But the total recall and total information awareness that characterize these interactions are further complicated by the focalizing powers of hashtags, filters, and notifications."
Matthew KirschenbaumFeb 6, 2015
- Literary Criticism
- Science & Technology
Against Common Sense
Rei Terada’s "Looking Away" has given us a grammar for the feeling of wanting to escape from something unfixable.
Michael W. CluneFeb 1, 2015
Before the Fourth Wall: Reading “New World Drama”
If the theatrical performances of colonial America looked different than those of our own, did they mean something different, too?
Duncan FahertyJan 16, 2015
- Cultural Studies
- Literary Criticism
The Virtues of Know-Nothing Criticism
Discussions of films, or books, or comics seem to inevitably turn into discussions about accreditation.
Noah BerlatskyDec 31, 2014
- Literary Criticism
Racecraft: Stories of Racial Passing
Racial passing shows that “race” is both socially constructed and, as experienced, extremely meaningful.
Lucy McKeonDec 5, 2014
- Fiction
- Literary Criticism
On Excess: Susan Sontag’s Born-Digital Archive
Susan Sontag’s entire digital life is now available to researchers. What should they do with it?
Jacquelyn Ardam, Jeremy SchmidtOct 26, 2014
- Literary Criticism
Lives Between Words: Exploring Latino/a Literature with Daniel Olivas
Daniel Olivas has been interviewing everyone who is anyone in Latino/a Literature.
Carribean FragozaJun 8, 2014
- Literary Criticism
Let Me Remind You
Now that Salinger is gone, people can freely reminisce.
Molly PuldaJun 3, 2014
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Criticism
After the Great American Novel
What do English professors do with literature? And what might the next era of literary scholarship look like?
Jordan Alexander SteinMay 1, 2014
- Literary Criticism