The Silent Social Order of the Theory Classroom

Author: Thorkelson, Eli

Source: Social Epistemology, Volume 22, Number 2, April 2008 , pp. 165-196(32)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

I offer an ethnographic analysis of two “theory” classes in an elite American literary studies program. First, I examine the classroom's bureaucratic form, as it is structured by power, time and space, and made visible in syllabi and attempted pedagogical reforms. I then turn to pedagogical practice, examining the forms of knowledge and power implicit in classroom discourse. I show that ideological stances toward theory vary according to individual status in the theoretical field. I consider the epistemic fetishism of the “text” within classroom knowledge-making practices. Finally, I draw out some implications of my analysis for reflexive academic research, with particular attention to Bourdieu's reflexive social science.

Keywords: Literary Theory; Social Life of Post-Structuralism; Classroom Ethnography; Reflexivity; Sociology of Knowledge

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/02691720802156284

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