There are no Departments of Literary Criticism; and even proposals to have a Criticism question in official examinations can cause turbulence in academic circles. What is at stake? By now, of course, a political element has entered, and many suspect that under the name of 'criticism' all kinds of illegal goods may be smuggled in. Customs is instructed to make a proper search. Is 'criticism' a hidden agenda for Marxism, Lacanianism, structuralist anti-humanism etc?

LRB 21 October 1982 | PDF Download