thegreatdivide wrote on Dec 30^th, 2024 at 12:32pm:

So why doesn't China destroy its nuclear weapons?
You forgot to tell us.

The Conservative Turn in Literary Studies
In a time of uncertainty, scholars seek a return to the fundamentals.

There’s a conservative turn happening in literary studies, although it hasn’t received much public attention. Those involved certainly haven’t banded together under a banner. In literature departments, there are no “conservatives” to compete with, say, “surface readers” or any other new, branded trend. In fact, it seems likely that those engaged in the movement are not fully aware they belong to it. After all, it isn’t easy to call oneself a conservative in the humanities these days. Yet this conservative turn is significant. It marks a pivotal moment of recognition in the discipline of English’s history.

What defines the conservative turn? A return to disciplinary bedrock, an insistence that the methods and purposes that first defined the discipline be respected and, in some form or other, resuscitated. The conservative turn also, therefore, revives interest in the discipline’s history. It remembers and reappraises not just English’s pathways and achievements but also its core values.

Only a small number of people are involved in this conservative turn. But it is nevertheless driven by powerful political and historical forces. It should be better understood — and, at least in part, endorsed.

The rest here:
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-conservative-turn-in-literary-studies?bc_n...

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 16^th, 2025 at 5:02pm:

Ah, you didnt make it past the first triggering word.
Sad.

thegreatdivide wrote on Jan 17^th, 2025 at 4:57pm:


The article is about literature, incomprehending parrot.