On paradox : the claims of theory / Elizabeth S. Anker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anker, Elizabeth S. (Elizabeth Susan), 1973- author.

Series:

e-Duke books scholarly collection

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paradox.

Paradox--Political aspects.

Paradox--Social aspects.

Critical theory.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 361 pages).

Place of Publication:

Durham : Duke University Press, 2022.

System Details:

Mode of Access: World Wide Web.

data file

Summary:

"In On Paradox literary and legal scholar Elizabeth S. Anker contends that faith in the logic of paradox has been the cornerstone of left intellectualism since the second half of the twentieth century. She attributes the ubiquity of paradox in the humanities to its appeal as an incisive tool for exposing and dismantling hierarchies. Tracing the ascent of paradox in theories of modernity, in rights discourse, in the history of literary criticism and the linguistic turn, and in the transformation of the liberal arts in higher education, Anker suggests that paradox not only generates the very exclusions it critiques but also creates a disempowering haze of indecision. She shows that reasoning through paradox has become deeply problematic: it engrains a startling homogeneity of thought while undercutting the commitment to social justice that remains a guiding imperative of theory. Rather than calling for a wholesale abandonment of such reasoning, Anker urges for an expanded, diversified theory toolkit that can help theorists escape the seductions and traps of paradox."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

On Paradox

All That Is Solid Melts into Paradox: The Idea of Modernity

Ontologizing the Paradoxes of Rights, or the Anti-Legalism of Theory

Interlude: Anatomy of Paradox, or a Brief History of Aesthetic Theory

Redeeming Rights, or the Ethics and Politics of Paradox

The Politics of Exclusion

The Pedagogy of Paradox

Interlude: A Different Kind of Theory

What Holds Things Together: Toward an Integrative Criticism.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Anker, Elizabeth S. (Elizabeth Susan), 1973- On paradox.

ISBN:

9781478023609

1478023600

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.