A Manifesto for Literary Studies

"A Manifesto for Literary Studies," writes Marjorie Garber, �is an attempt to remind us of the specificity of what it means to ask literary questions, and the pleasure of thinking through and with literature. It is a manifesto in the sense that it invites strong declarations and big ideas, rather than impeccable small contributions to edifices long under construction.� Known for her timely challenges to the preconceptions and often unquestioned boundaries that circumscribe our culture, Garber�s beautifully crafted arguments situate �big public questions of intellectual importance� – such as human nature and historical correctness – within the practice of literary historians and critics. This manifesto revives the ancient craft whose ultimate focus is language in action. In this book, Garber passionately states that �the future importance of literary studies – and, if we care about such things, its intellectual and cultural prestige both among the other disciplines and in the world – will come from taking risks, and not from playing it safe.�