Textual Power: Literary Theory and the Teaching of English

"Robert Scholes has written an enviable book on the uses and abuses of literary theory in the teaching of literature. One of [his] most forceful points…is that 'literary theory' is not something a teacher may either 'use' or not use, for teaching itself is an unavoidably theoretical activity."-Gerald Graff, *Novel* "Scholes' emphasis in *Textual Power* is indicated by the book's subtitle. After a provocative analysis of disciplinary values and departmental tendencies…[he] proposes that 'we must stop "teaching literature" and start studying texts'…His book is essential for college libraries."-R.C. Gebhardt, *Choice* "There is no issue more current, more relevant to the present scene, than the problem of pedagogy and its relation to contemporary theory. *Textual Power* is an important, provocative, and above all useful contribution to this discussion."-Gregory L. Ulmer Robert Scholes, author of *Structuralism in Literature* and *Semiotics and Interpretation* among other books, is Alumni-Alumnae University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Brown University.