The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE WAY WE ARGUE NOW is at once diagnostic and revisionist, polemical and utopian..." (more)
Key Phrases: aggrandized agency, performative subversion, postmodern skeptic, New York, Feminist Contentions, Jurgen Habermas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

How do we argue now? Vigorously and with vim, if Amanda Anderson's new book is any indication. Anderson worries that the poststructuralist critique of reason, together with identity politics' sociological reductionism, threatens to undermine our capacity to argue, but she puts the lie to her own concern in this well-argued book. And she gives her readers much to argue with. We should all rise to her challenge and respond to this book in ways that participate in, extend, and (dare I say it?) trouble the culture of argument that Anderson here seeks to promote and surely exemplifies.
(Bonnie Honig, Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University and senior research fellow, American Bar Foundation )

Product Description

How do the ways we argue represent a practical philosophy or a way of life? Are concepts of character and ethos pertinent to our understanding of academic debate? In this book, Amanda Anderson analyzes arguments in literary, cultural, and political theory, with special attention to the ways in which theorists understand ideals of critical distance, forms of subjective experience, and the determinants of belief and practice. Drawing on the resources of the liberal and rationalist tradition, Anderson interrogates the limits of identity politics and poststructuralism while holding to the importance of theory as a form of life.

Considering high-profile trends as well as less noted patterns of argument, The Way We Argue Now addresses work in feminism, new historicism, queer theory, postcolonialism, cosmopolitanism, pragmatism, and proceduralism. The essays brought together here--lucid, precise, rigorously argued--combine pointed critique with an appreciative assessment of the productive internal contests and creative developments across these influential bodies of thought.

Ultimately, The Way We Argue Now promotes a revitalized culture of argument through a richer understanding of the ways critical reason is practiced at the individual, collective, and institutional levels. Bringing to the fore the complexities of academic debate while shifting the terms by which we assess the continued influence of theory, it will appeal to readers interested in political theory, literary studies, cultural studies, gender studies, and the place of academic culture in society and politics.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691114048
• ISBN-13: 978-0691114040
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #992,095 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the work, June 25, 2007

By	R. Schowen (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is indespensable for those engaged in literary criticism, cultural studies, and political/social theory. Anderson's book is theoretically dense and her writing reflects this. This is not a quick or simple read, and without some background in the above fields, it probably won't make much sense. That said, her arguments are complex, well-reasoned, and clearly defined. Perforce, I doubt one would fully agree with all of Anderson's assertions, but her depth and clarity of insight serve as springboards with which to launch new, more critical investigations into the debates of the contemporary cultures of theory and by extension, the living project of contemporary theoretical perspectives. Highly recommended because even if you don't agree with it, it will make you think.