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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Using Theory to Breakdown Theory

The “Against Theory” article was interesting, but as I began to think about how the duo of Mr. Knapp and Mr. Michaels were analyzing the use of theory, I realized they were using theory to breakdown theory. Knapp and Michaels use post-structuralist theory to breakdown critical theory in general. By using post-structuralist theory, Knapp and Michaels are deconstructing the signs of authorial and speaker’s intent by saying what is perceived by the reader or listener isn’t always what the author or speaker intended, breaking the binary of how to read texts based on authorial or speaker’s intent. They seem to be using theory, breaking the binary of intent to interpretation, to disrupt the current literary theory movement, but by the end of the article Knapp and Michaels are claiming the two are inseparable. By claiming they are inseparable, the two authors are forcing the binary of “practice and theory”, which despite objections by the duo, is essentially their final conclusion.

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