Literary Theory as a Corrective in National Cultures
Literary Theory as a Corrective in National Cultures

Summary/Abstract: Instead of purporting to prove a proposition, I will point to a pattern: it will identify three seemingly unrelated phenomena, and, by noticing a resemblance between them, describe them as three varieties of one species, three tokens of a larger type. Instead of sequencing premises that entail a conclusion, it will array observations to invite a gestalt. Because each item described (the three varieties and the species) has both a textual and a social aspect, each acts as a contact point at which literary theory and national culture bear on one another. Collectively, the cases indicate one role for literary theory: it should, and does, function as a corrective in relation to national culture. [...]

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