Theoretical inquiry : language, linguistics, and literature / Austin E. Quigley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Quigley, Austin E., 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource (xxii, 262 p.))

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the aftermath of debate about the death of literary theory, Austin E. Quigley asks whether theory has failed us or we have failed literary theory. Theory can thrive, he argues, only if we understand how it can be strategically deployed to reveal what it does not presuppose. This involves the repositioning of theoretical inquiry relative to historical and critical inquiry and the repositioning of theories relative to each other. What follows is a thought-provoking reexamination of the controversial claims of pluralism in literary studies. The book explores the related roles of literary history, criticism, and theory by tracing the fascinating history of linguistics as an intellectual problem in the twentieth century. Quigley's approach clarifies the pluralistic nature of literary inquiry, the viability and life cycles of theories, the controversial status of canonicity, and the polemical nature of the culture wars by positioning them all in the context of recurring debates about language that have their earliest exemplifications in classical times.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1. Literary Theory and Linguistic Theory

Chapter 2. Saussure, Firth, and Bakhtin: Unity, Diversity, and Theory

Chapter 3 .Chomsky and Halliday: Novelty, Generality, and Theory

Chapter 4. Wittgenstein: Facticity, Instrumentality, and Theory

Chapter 5. Literary and Cultural Studies: Theory, History, and Criticism

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-254) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-73057-2

9786611730574

0-300-12981-5

OCLC:

1024051346