It often feels like all I do is read theory. But every single criticism of my scholarly production can be boiled down to one idea: I don’t read enough theory. I am fortunate in that my reviewers tend to be fantastic, really helpful, so I believe them: I need to read more theory. Especially since I never stay on one subject and move from feminism to the nation-state to the economy to queer studies to urban studies to the Spanish Civil War.
Interesting. 10 years ago there was a lot of talk in the humanities about how the “moment of theory” had passed. Apparently that’s not true?
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What people were forgetting to mention is that it was mostly French theory that died. Everything else continued to flourish. 🙂
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You may read more theory (I also think it died a decade ago, by the way, and not only the French one), but keep trusting your instinct when it comes to writing. I think that some reviewer may feel uncomfortable with the fact that it is your voice that they hear in your book, and not the voice of theorists filtered by you. Besides, because your work does not depend heavily or obviously on theory x or y, your academic work will likely never be outdated.
And being eclectic is a sign of intelligence and of a vast knowledge.
Cheers to your success and your transcendence!
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I read half of your book, and I can say that I wish you could do some more work on nineteenth century bildungsroman. I know that this is not your focus right now, and that you are tired of the topic, but I wish I could read more about it from you.
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Merci. The 19th century theory us where I’m especially lacking and I’m planning to read up on it in the nearest future.
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I have this theory that they read too much theory and not enough of each writer …
The primary argument I always marshal against the idea that I simply haven’t read enough of the “right” people is that they are never truly around when you need them, and they’re in excessive abundance when you don’t.
Aldous Huxley really wrote it the best: all writers are “great abbreviators” because of the reality of living finite lives.
Besides, you can always claim that you have already read the theory (even when you haven’t), and that you are following the inspiration of Walter Gropius’s claim that “we’ll start from zero!”, taking nothing for granted and accepting any possible madness … 🙂
[… Bau-haus, in the middl of Art Street …]
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I love my blog readers for how they immediately begin to defend me from these criticisms. Thank you, people, I’m very touched.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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