The discipline of literary criticism is strictly defined, and the most pressing issues of our time-racism, violence against women and homosexuals, cultural imperialism, and the like-are located outside its domain. In Professional Correctness, Stanley Fish raises a provocative challenge to those who try to turn literary studies into an instrument of political change, arguing that when literary critics try to influence society at large by addressing social and political issues, they cease to be literary critics at all.

Anyone interested in the debate over the place of cultural studies in the field of literary criticism, or the more general question of whether academics can become the "public intellectuals" many aspire to be, needs to read Fish's powerful and unconventional argument for restoring discipline to the academy.

The book is by far the most powerful critique yet written of recent developments in academic humanities that have made interdisciplinary boundary crossing, cultural studies, and politically oriented textual analysis the dominant trend. Fish writes with a wit and dash that make him every bit as readable as the most nasty neocons while being vastly better informed. -- Gerald Graff, Professor of English, University of Chicago

About the Author
Stanley Fish is Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law at Florida International University. His many books include There's No Such Thing as Free Speech: And It's a Good Thing, Too.

Reviews
Fish has written a very stylish, muscular little book arguing that the enemies of literary study are the new Historicism and cultural studies, and that more professionalism just might save the sinking ship. -- Rick Perlstein * The Nation *
The book is by far the most powerful critique yet written of recent developments in academic humanities that have made interdisciplinary boundary crossing, cultural studies, and politically oriented textual analysis the dominant trend. Fish writes with a wit and dash that make him every bit as readable as the most nasty neocons while being vastly better informed. -- Gerald Graff, Professor of English, University of Chicago



Book Information
ISBN 9780674712201
Author Stanley Fish
Format Paperback
Page Count 154
Imprint Harvard University Press
Publisher Harvard University Press
Weight(grams) 186g