Explores the intersection of conspiracy theory and theory-as-conspiracy. Theory conspiracy is approached from a number of different critical perspectives. The volume consists of contributions from contemporary theorists who have published extensively on questions of paranoia, conspiracy theory and/or the state of theory today.

This book introduces the reader to the ways in which happiness has been explored in philosophy and literature for thousands of years, in order to understand the newest theoretical approaches to happiness. Jeffrey R. Di Leo draws on its long and rich history as a window into our present obsession with happiness. Each of the four chapters of this book provides a substantially different literary-theoretical account of how and why literature matters with respect to considerations of happiness. From the neoliberal happiness industry and the psychoanalytic rejection of happiness to aesthetic hedonism and revolutionary happiness, literature viewed from the perspective of happiness becomes a story about what is and is not the goal of life. The multidisciplinary approach of this book will appeal to a variety of readers from literary studies, critical theory, philosophy and psychology and anyone with an interest in happiness and theories of emotion.

Explores the intersection of conspiracy theory and theory-as-conspiracy. Theory conspiracy is approached from a number of different critical perspectives. The volume consists of contributions from contemporary theorists who have published extensively on questions of paranoia, conspiracy theory and/or the state of theory today.

The alt-right movement in the United States has actively been endorsing the use of left theory to achieve its ends—and with varying degrees of success. Tracing occasions where figures on the alt-right reference left theory, this volume asks if the alt-right’s reference of left theory is just bad reading, or are there troubling ways that certain types of left theory encourage such interpretations? What if the connections between left theory and the alt-right lie in the shared disdain for certain types of institutions, structures of power, and the status quo? Are there lessons to be learned in what can often appear as an overlapping desire to deconstruct concepts like truth, justice, freedom, and democracy? Drawing on the longer history of right-wing readings of left theory, this volume seeks to unpack these recent developments and consider their impact on the future of theory.

Forged at the intersection of intense interest in the pertinence and uses of biopolitics and biopower, this volume analyzes theoretical and practical paradigms for understanding and challenging the socioeconomic determinations of life and death in contemporary capitalism. Its contributors offer a series of trenchant interdisciplinary critiques, each one taking on both the specific dimensions of biopolitics and the deeper genealogies of cultural logic and structure that crucially inform its impress. New ways to think about biopolitics as an explanatory model are offered, and the subject of bios (life, ways of life) itself is taken into innovative theoretical possibilities. On the one hand, biopolitics is addressed in terms of its contributions to forms and divisions of knowledge; on the other, its capacity for reformulation is assessed before the most pressing concerns of contemporary living. It is a must read for anyone concerned with the study of bios in its theoretical profusions.

This book introduces the reader to the ways in which happiness has been explored in philosophy and literature for thousands of years, in order to understand the newest theoretical approaches to happiness. Jeffrey R. Di Leo draws on its long and rich history as a window into our present obsession with happiness. Each of the four chapters of this book provides a substantially different literary-theoretical account of how and why literature matters with respect to considerations of happiness. From the neoliberal happiness industry and the psychoanalytic rejection of happiness to aesthetic hedonism and revolutionary happiness, literature viewed from the perspective of happiness becomes a story about what is and is not the goal of life. The multidisciplinary approach of this book will appeal to a variety of readers from literary studies, critical theory, philosophy and psychology and anyone with an interest in happiness and theories of emotion.

The alt-right movement in the United States has actively been endorsing the use of left theory to achieve its ends—and with varying degrees of success. Tracing occasions where figures on the alt-right reference left theory, this volume asks if the alt-right’s reference of left theory is just bad reading, or are there troubling ways that certain types of left theory encourage such interpretations? What if the connections between left theory and the alt-right lie in the shared disdain for certain types of institutions, structures of power, and the status quo? Are there lessons to be learned in what can often appear as an overlapping desire to deconstruct concepts like truth, justice, freedom, and democracy? Drawing on the longer history of right-wing readings of left theory, this volume seeks to unpack these recent developments and consider their impact on the future of theory.

Demythologizing contemporary higher education has become a priority for committed twenty-first century academics. Today, the economic and political dimensions of universities are among the most hotly and highly contested topics in higher education--particularly among humanities scholars. It is currently not uncommon to find standing-room-only sessions at MLA (Modern Language Association) or ACLA (American Comparative Literature Association) meetings for presentations on the corporate university or the fate of tenure, while sessions on traditional literary topics see sparse attendance. Indeed, one of the major ramifications of the rise of cultural studies in the humanities is the normalization of meta-professional scholarship among committed scholars.Literary theorist and philosopher Jeffrey R. Di Leo has for many years been one of leading voices in the burgeoning and pioneering field of meta-professional humanities scholarship. Through numerous essays, and many edited books and journal issues, Di Leo's cross-disciplinary humanities work has consistently been at the edge of current thinking, and has been at the forefront of efforts to lay bare contemporary academic life. "Academe Degree Zero" consists of a collection of ten essays that identify and critically examine a number of important meta-professional issues facing higher education today. These issues include: the nature and limits of anonymity in academic discourse, the ways in which affiliation and prestige temper academic judgment, and the role of collegiality in academic life.Collectively, the essays in this book provide a snapshot of academic identity and relations in a time of major technological and economic transformation, most notably, the increased use of electronic media in higher education for both the dissemination of scholarship and classroom instruction, and the corporatization of higher education.

Demythologizing contemporary higher education has become a priority for committed twenty-first century academics. Today, the economic and political dimensions of universities are among the most hotly and highly contested topics in higher education--particularly among humanities scholars. It is currently not uncommon to find standing-room-only sessions at MLA (Modern Language Association) or ACLA (American Comparative Literature Association) meetings for presentations on the corporate university or the fate of tenure, while sessions on traditional literary topics see sparse attendance. Indeed, one of the major ramifications of the rise of cultural studies in the humanities is the normalization of meta-professional scholarship among committed scholars. Literary theorist and philosopher Jeffrey R. Di Leo has for many years been one of leading voices in the burgeoning and pioneering field of meta-professional humanities scholarship.

Forged at the intersection of intense interest in the pertinence and uses of biopolitics and biopower, this volume analyzes theoretical and practical paradigms for understanding and challenging the socioeconomic determinations of life and death in contemporary capitalism. Its contributors offer a series of trenchant interdisciplinary critiques, each one taking on both the specific dimensions of biopolitics and the deeper genealogies of cultural logic and structure that crucially inform its impress. New ways to think about biopolitics as an explanatory model are offered, and the subject of bios (life, ways of life) itself is taken into innovative theoretical possibilities. On the one hand, biopolitics is addressed in terms of its contributions to forms and divisions of knowledge; on the other, its capacity for reformulation is assessed before the most pressing concerns of contemporary living. It is a must read for anyone concerned with the study of bios in its theoretical profusions.

"Neoliberalism, Education, Terrorism: Contemporary Dialogues" is a collaborative effort among four established public intellectuals who deeply care about the future of education in America and who are concerned about the dangerous effects of neoliberalism on American society and culture. It aims to provide a clear, concise, and thought-provoking account of the problems facing education in America under the dual shadows of neoliberalism and terrorism. Through collaborative and individual essays, the authors provide a provocative account that will be of interest to anyone who concerning with the opportunities and dangers facing the future of education at this critical moment in history.

This book asks what it means to live in a higher educational world continuously tempered by catastrophe. Many of the resources for response and resistance to catastrophe have long been identified by thinkers ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson and William James to H. G. Wells and Emanuel Haldeman-Julius. Di Leo posits that hope and resistance are possible if we are willing to resist a form of pessimism that already appears to be drawing us into its arms. Catastrophe and Higher Education argues that the future of the humanities is tied to the fate of theory as a form of resistance to neoliberalism in higher education. It also offers that the fate of the academy may very well be in the hands of humanities scholars who are tasked with either rejecting theory and philosophy in times of catastrophe-or embracing it.

This book asks what it means to live in a higher educational world continuously tempered by catastrophe. Many of the resources for response and resistance to catastrophe have long been identified by thinkers ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson and William James to H. G. Wells and Emanuel Haldeman-Julius. Di Leo posits that hope and resistance are possible if we are willing to resist a form of pessimism that already appears to be drawing us into its arms. Catastrophe and Higher Education argues that the future of the humanities is tied to the fate of theory as a form of resistance to neoliberalism in higher education. It also offers that the fate of the academy may very well be in the hands of humanities scholars who are tasked with either rejecting theory and philosophy in times of catastrophe-or embracing it.

This book explores questions concerning personal identity and individual conduct within neoliberal academe. The author suggests that neoliberal academe is normal academe in the new millennium though well aware of its contested nature and destructive capacities. Examining higher education through a number of ideals, such as austerity and transparency, brings readers on a journey into its present as well as its past. If some of these ideals can be identified and critiqued, there is a chance that the foundations of neoliberal academe can be weakened. This book actively pursues pathways out of the neoliberal abyss--and offers that demanding a role for pleasure in higher education may be one of them.

What are the theoretical parameters that produce the category public intellectual? By pondering the conceptual elements that inform the term, this book offers not just a political critique, but a sense of the new challenges its meanings present. This collection complicates the notion of public intellectual while arguing for its continued urgency in communities formal and informal, institutional and abstract. While it is not quite accurate to say public intellectuals have disappeared entirely, it is clear they function differently in an age of global neoliberalism and techno-digital overdrive. Today the idea of the public intellectual bears only the slightest resemblance to what it was fifty or even twenty-five years ago. The essays in this collection provide a number of different ways to imagine the fate of public intellectuals and offers a thorough exploration of the commonplace ideologies and politics associated with them.

Presenting different ways to imagine criticism without critique, this collection provides a survey of both the difficult times facing ideological critique and the ways in which literary criticism and aesthetics have been affected by changing attitudes toward critique.

Presenting different ways to imagine criticism without critique, this collection provides a survey of both the difficult times facing ideological critique and the ways in which literary criticism and aesthetics have been affected by changing attitudes toward critique.

As the neoliberal academy grows in power and influence, the humanities seem to decrease by the same measure. How do humanists speak for and from the humanities in an academy which values critical inquiry into them less and less? Working in the humanities in this climate requires humanists to be even better at what they do best, namely, providing critical insight on each other's work and valuing contributions for the ways in which they advance critical dialogue within the academy, rather than stifle it. Corporate Humanities in Higher Education contends that moving beyond the neoliberal academy may not be as easy as returning to its predecessor--but it certainly will not be as difficult as trying to function as an academic committed to critical inquiry and democratic education in the age of neoliberalism. Anyone who cares about the future of the humanities in these dark times will benefit from this book.

How do humanists speak for and from the humanities in an academy which values them less and less and market-driven approaches more and more? Jeffrey R. Di Leo provides a thorough critique of the higher education crisis and a set of practical and reasonable remedies for shaping the study and practice of the humanities in the academy of the future.

"Neoliberalism, Education, Terrorism: Contemporary Dialogues" is a collaborative effort among four established public intellectuals who deeply care about the future of education in America and who are concerned about the dangerous effects of neoliberalism on American society and culture. It aims to provide a clear, concise, and thought-provoking account of the problems facing education in America under the dual shadows of neoliberalism and terrorism. Through collaborative and individual essays, the authors provide a provocative account that will be of interest to anyone who concerning with the opportunities and dangers facing the future of education at this critical moment in history.

This book explores questions concerning personal identity and individual conduct within neoliberal academe. The author suggests that neoliberal academe is normal academe in the new millennium though well aware of its contested nature and destructive capacities. Examining higher education through a number of ideals, such as austerity and transparency, brings readers on a journey into its present as well as its past. If some of these ideals can be identified and critiqued, there is a chance that the foundations of neoliberal academe can be weakened. This book actively pursues pathways out of the neoliberal abyss--and offers that demanding a role for pleasure in higher education may be one of them.

Over the course of the past twenty-five years, anthologies have shifted from playing a relatively minor role in academic culture to a position of dominance. The essays in this collection explore the significant intellectual, economic, political, pedagogical, and creative resonance of anthologies through all levels of academic life. They show that anthologies have consequences and are grounded in commitments. Striving to articulate these consequences and commitments is a priority in higher education today.
Most of the contributors to this volume are editors of anthologies, and they draw on personal experiences to provide a rare glimpse into the economics and logic of anthology publication. Their essays illustrate the ways in which editing an anthology involves negotiation and compromise between intellectual ideal and realistic practice.

"On Anthologies" includes discussion of a wide range of anthologies used and produced by teachers and scholars. Though the emphasis is on literature and theory anthologies, the insights in this volume speak to professionals in all areas of academic life. Collectively, these essays establish the foundation for continuing critical analysis of anthology production and consumption in all disciplines.

Selling the Humanities explores the challenges facing literature, philosophy, and theory at a time when the humanities appear to some as burnt out.  There is incredible pressure to demonstrate the value of the humanities within institutions dedicated to economic feasibility and job placement, not intellectual power and social commitment.  This situation is further intensified by the demand that one must always be prepared to sell the humanities to others in an effort to save them.  But is it even possible to commodify the humanities?  And if so, might our efforts to sell the humanities also have the potential to kill them in the process?

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Theory is the most comprehensive available survey of the state of the art t/Theory in the 21st-century. With chapters written by the world’s leading scholars in their field, the book explores the latest thinking in traditional schools such as feminist, Marxist, historicist, psychoanalytic and postcolonial criticism and new areas of research in ecocriticism, biopolitics, affect studies, posthumanism, materialism and many other fields. In addition, the book includes a substantial A to Z of key words and important thinkers in contemporary theory, making this an essential resource for scholars of literary and cultural theory at all levels.

Antitheory has long been a venerable brand of theory and - although seemingly opposite - the two impulses have long been intertwined. Antitheory is the first book to explore this vexed relationship from the 20th century to the present day, examining antitheory both in its historical context and its current state. The book brings together leading scholars from a wide range of Humanities disciplines to ask such questions as: * What is antitheory? * What does it mean to be against theory in the new millennium? * What is the current state of post-theory, the alleged deaths of theory, and the critique of critique?