Nicholas Birns. Theory after Theory: An Intellectual History of Literary Theory from 1950 to the Early 21st Century

Nicholas Birns. After Theory: An Intellectual History of Literary From 1950 To The Early 21st Century. Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press, 2010. The title of this book is not one of resignation, is, with a sigh: one damn theory after another. Nor is it one of celebration, is, with a huzzah: now we can go back to pretending there's no such thing! Instead, what Birns signals with title After is his view we currently exist in, not a theory-less time, but a period where we're picking up pieces and sorting through rubble of Tsunami struck English Department at end of 20th century. Among Birns' central claims, then, is the era of theory's dominance is over (11), a trend he sees ebbing by first decade of 21st century. How one views such an assertion, of course, depends very much on a definition of dominance. By it, does Birns suggest we've emerged from a time of slavish conformity suffered under a dictatorship? Or does he imply a period of exceptional innovation has settled out into a new normal? I honestly can't tell. At times in this study, whether intended or not, Birns paints a picture of a 1950s, Eisenhowerish, Father-Knows-Best brand of literary theory being overthrown by a 1968ish, Gauloises-smoking, Stalinist bureaucrat brand of cultural theory established a polar opposite reign of terror from its predecessor. That is, where previously corduroy-jacketed New Critic kindly told us all our readings were hopelessly wrong, this humorless and black-clad new ideologue was jargon-filled and intolerant in her monotonous imposition of non-essentialist theory on everything from Chaucer to Elvis. From 1970s to 1990s, it seems, theory roamed academic hallways as a kind of Creature From The Franco-Marxist Lagoon, intimidating and thoroughly out of control. Perhaps such caricatures are unavoidable. Perhaps Birns lets them stand side by side as a strategy to appeal to all readers. In end, though, downgrading of supremacy of theory is more or less beside point. Birns comes not to bury or to praise theory, but foremost to explain it--its origins, its gigantic impact, and its aftermath. As Birns points out, Theory was not suddenly interjected into cultural system by aliens from outer space. It came out of a diagnosable set of historical processes and because of existence of a few notable (40). The real purpose of this book, then. is to situate theory movement of late 20th in its historical and intellectual context. Toward this goal, Birns examines state of literary criticism before theory, provides a retrospective account of major figures and schools defined importance of theory, and seeks to assess permanent contributes theory has made. Moreover, his most fundamental contention is that theory's ultimate effect on intellectual history has been emancipatory (41). The notable individuals Birns names as pioneers of postmodernism are Barthes, Bloom, Booth, Foucault, and Derrida. Each in some way brought new, fresh viewpoints into literary criticism made it one of most intellectually eventful disciplines in latter half of century (40). According to Birns, what each of these thinkers counteracted was stultifying effect of 'resolved symbolic (15). …

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