Medieval Studies Program and Literature Program Present
"It's a beautiful thing": A History of Reading Closely
5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
University of California at San Diego
What is the place of literature in an ironic age? Can we still have an affective relationship to the literary past? My talk explores the ways in which some English and American writers interrogate the social value of close reading and the personally felt relationship to books. Given the recent return to formal criticism in Departments of Literature, and given the challenges to the Humanities in contemporary society, many critics have advocated a new way of "loving literature." Is this sentimental or sensible? My talk opens up these questions for the student and the teacher of the book in a digital age.
For more information, call 845-758-7697, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: RKC 103