Does Literary Studies Have a Future? by Eugene Goodheart (review)

Reviews Eugene Goodheart. Does Literary Studies Have a Future?Madison: The University ofWisconsin Press, 1999. 137p. Robert M. Hogge Weber State University This is a valuable book! Morris Dickstein, City University ofNew York, has even called it "an epitaph to the culture wars." In a thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of the "current Balkanization" of literary studies in the United States, Eugene Goodheart asks the questions we must answer ifwe are concerned about the present condition and future ofliterary studies. Why do we distort issues when we debate the canon, gender studies, and literary theory? Why is the academy now infatuated with popular culture? How can ideology and aesthetics both be used fruitfully in literary studies? Goodheart is a Socratic reasoner, not a divisive culture warrior, as he persuades us to engage in dialogue with our opponents (those both within and outside the academy) rather than continuing "the hermeneutics ofsuspicion," a destructive mindset based on intolerance and even contempt for those who do not agree with us. Whether we are traditionalists or antitraditionalists, he encourages us to think against ourselves; to realize that truth is dispersed, not absolute; and to debatewith strong adversaries, not hearing words simply to refute, but primarily listening to understand and value our opponents' most intellectually compelling arguments, even ifwe don't ultimately agree with all ofthe conclusions. Goodheart feels that the purpose ofthis cogent discussion of issues is not to decide, but to explore issues ofcontention—to begin conversing with one another again. What I like most about the book is that Goodheart consistently models the intellectual approach he'd like us to take. Rather than simply ignoring the "cultural right," for example, he admits that he avoided reading Allan Bloom's The Closing ofthe American Mind for the longest time, but that, when he did finally read it, he found himselfintrigued but finally unconvinced by Bloom's analysis of the Western intellectual tradition. Before arriving at his final assessment, he carefully considered Bloom's ideas, and, based upon the evidence presented, agreed, in part, with Bloom's analysis. But often he found himselfdisagreeingwith Bloom on a perception or interpretation ofthe evidence. Goodheart's important point is that, even between irreconcilable antagonists, there is usually some point ofagreement that makes a scholarly debate possible. Here is a dominant issue in the book I found intriguing: Goodheart's perceptive analysis ofthe evolution ofliterary theory during a key thirty-year period. He describes what he feels are the devastating effects ofthe radical shift from the vernacular style of the New Criticism of the 1950s (where the reigning values were FALL 2001 # ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW * 131 aesthetic) to the sociological prose of a specialized discourse community in the Poststructuralism ofthe 1980s (where the reigning values were theoretical). What troubles Goodheart the most is that "a literary sensibility" is not even requisite today for professional entry into the discipline. As a way ofinfusing a new vitality into the discipline, Goodheart proposes reinfranchising certain ideas that have apparently become disreputable in the humanities: objectivity, disinterestedness, tradition, and aesthetic appreciation—intellectual attributes that should be the common possession ofscholars whatever their political or cultural position: left, right, or center. These few ideas I have focused on are certainly only suggestive of the book's intellectual richness. To savor fully the subtlety, perceptiveness, and persuasiveness of Goodheart's compelling argument, you need to immerse yourself in his lucid and arresting prose. Does Literary Studies Have a Future? is one ofthose few books described by Francis Bacon, in OfStudies, that needs "to be chewed and digested." * StyleEase:A Paper andReference Formatting Software Using the Modern LanguageAssociation Handbook Style. Version 1.0. Guilford Publications, Inc., 2000. Asao B. Inoue Washington State University StyleEase is an easy-to-install patch-like program that adds templates and options to your current version ofMS Word. Ifyou are looking for a documentation tool that will help you insert citations, add works cited and reference lists, and format papers according to MLA Handbook style, then this is it. The program uses the styles and template options already offered in Word and adds custom Word templates for documents such as MLA papers, term papers, theses, and dissertations. The slender user...