What's Wrong with Antitheory

Antitheory has long been a venerable brand of theory and - although seemingly opposite - the two impulses have long been intertwined. Antitheory is the first book to explore this vexed relationship from the 20th century to the present day, examining antitheory both in its historical context and its current state. The book brings together leading scholars from a wide range of Humanities disciplines to ask such questions as:
· What is antitheory?
· What does it mean to be against theory in the new millennium?
· What is the current state of post-theory, the alleged deaths of theory, and the critique of critique?
"Antitheory capitalizes on the decline of higher education, celebrates the impoverishment of thinking, relishes solipsism, criticizes in bad faith, and-get this-has the audacity to call itself Theory! This superb volume of essays explores these and other troubling features of antitheory-above all showing why antitheory is wrong six ways from Sunday. Composed by expert readers in Theory well versed in current debates, every chapter forcefully demonstrates that the fate of the humanities in these stupid times depends on the vitality of Theory in its most critical and revolutionary form." - Andrew Cole, Professor of English, Princeton University