The Limits of Critique
Competing modes of discourse no longer “compete.” They coexist.
Chuck Klosterman • But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past
To ask, «What is the function of criticism at the present time?» is also to ask two related questions. «What was the function of criticism in the past?» «What could be the function of criticism in the future?» These are anxious questions. One would not ask them if all was well in the state of cultural production and circulation. Nor would one ask t... See more
The Keatsian endeavor has never been popular, but is particularly unfashionable today. Religious fundamentalists reject it on the grounds that revelation and commitment are needed to orient oneself in the world. The amorality of a poet who is a “thoroughfare for all thoughts” risks heresy or destabilization. Tell me where you stand, where your loya... See more
Zohar Atkins • The Liberal Arts Are Dying Because Liberalism is Dying
We are reaching the point where we have to ask not only whether works of larger significance and reach can still be created, but also whether audiences—readers, viewers, listeners—would still know how to take them in if they were.