Reconstruction in Literary Studies: An Informalist Approach

Introduction: Formalism, Anti-Formalism, and Informalism PART I: INFORMALISM VS. FORMALISM 1. Purposiveness with a Purpose: Post-Darwinian Aesthetics and Literary Studies 2. Experiences or Vocabularies?: Pragmatism, Textualism, and the Teaching of Literature 3. The Ministry of Disturbance: Literary Studies without Method PART II: INFORMALISM VS. ANTI-FORMALISM 4. The Legacy of Deconstruction: Quasi-Transcendental Philosophy and Quasi-Private Literature 5. The Very Idea of Literature: A New Cultural Formalism Conclusion: Literary Studies and the Culture of Justification