On Paradox: The Claims of Theory by Elizabeth S. Anker (English) Paperback Book

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Elizabeth S. Anker contends that the faith in the logic of paradox has been the watermark of left intellectualism since the second half of the twentieth century, showing how paradox generates the very exclusions it critiques and undercuts theory's commitment to social justice.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

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 argues for an expanded, diversified theory toolkit that can help theorists escape the seductions and traps of paradox.

Author Biography

Elizabeth S. Anker is Professor of Law and Associate Professor of Literatures in English at Cornell University, coeditor of Critique and Postcritique, also published by Duke University Press, and author of Fictions of Dignity: Embodying Human Rights in World Literature.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments  ixIntroduction: On Paradox  11. All That Is Solid Melts into Paradox: The Idea of Modernity  292. Ontologizing the Paradoxes of Rights, or the Anti-legalism of Theory  73Interlude. Anatomy of Paradox, or a Brief History of Aesthetic Theory  1123. Redeeming Rights, or the Ethics and Politics of Paradox  1384. The Politics of Exclusion  1815. The Pedagogy of Paradox  221Interlude. A Different Kind of Theory  2616. What Holds Things Together: Toward an Integrative Criticism  266Notes  313Bibliography  335Index

Review

"The novelty of [Anker's] approach is to identify theory's style of thought with a fatal attraction to paradox, to something that appears absurd or contradictory but is actually true. . . . Anker illuminates both why theory has migrated so effectively beyond the academy and also how its self-replicating endlessness gives a startling large-scale intellectual uniformity to the pronouncements of elite institutions and right-wing conspiracists alike." -- Michael W. Clune * Los Angeles Review of Books *"As an intellectual and institutional history of critique, On Paradox offers a compelling explanation for the contemporary malaise of theory and critique." -- J Daniel Elam * Law & Literature *

Details ISBN1478018976 Author Elizabeth S. Anker Short Title On Paradox Publisher Duke University Press Language English Year 2022 ISBN-10 1478018976 ISBN-13 9781478018971 Format Paperback Subtitle The Claims of Theory Imprint Duke University Press Place of Publication North Carolina Country of Publication United States Pages 376 Publication Date 2022-12-09 AU Release Date 2022-12-09 NZ Release Date 2022-12-09 US Release Date 2022-12-09 UK Release Date 2022-12-09 Alternative 9781478016335 DEWEY 801 Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this

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