Last week Tara Williams asked me to be on a guest panel for her undergraduate literary theory and criticism course, along with professors Anita Helle, Peter Betjemann, and Kerry Ahearn. Today, we sat with the class in a quasi-circle as they asked us questions about theory (our interests in, uses of, and views about). I wish I had taken a notebook to the desk with me and written down some of the great things that the other panelists said. I really enjoyed being on the panel, and I felt pretty honored to be asked.
What made it weird (for me) was that it was a literary theory class, and while I’m pretty comfortable with literary theory (some of it), I don’t really use it all that often to apply it to literature. Sure, I take a few literature courses and use it then, but most of the time I use theory in my thinking about pedagogy, writing, rhetoric and politics, and my day-to-day interactions (which I talked about briefly, how theory has changed the way I listen, and how I think about how I do act, can act, could act, and wish to act in society). I was also a little hesitant to talk at times because Kerry, Anita, and Peter would say such amazing, insightful things, and I felt like I wasn’t nearly as articulate. But I definitely felt like I contributed.
Questions seemed to express certain assumptions about theory: it is only used in literature, it can damage our reading of texts we used to enjoy, that theories are not compatible, and a few others. I shared about my experience when I was in literary criticism as an undergraduate, and how I had friends who felt that theory ruined literature for them, but for me, it opened it up to more deeper, complex reading, and an ability to think more critically and to question assumptions. I think everyone on the panel mentioned their pleasure at reading and using theory.
I wish I had taken notes to write more about this, but now my memory is fuzzy, it’s late, and I’m tired. It was great to see and hear such great dialogue between (or among?) panelists and students.
