Abstract
What is the discourse of literary criticism and theory in the 21st century? In this paper, I de/construct the trend through the Nobel lectures on Literature from 2010-present. Sir Alfred Bernhard Nobel’s will formulates statutes guiding the award of the Literature prize to individuals with “the most outstanding work in an ideal direction” created for the “greatest benefit to humankind” (27 November 1895). The Nobel speeches offer one indicator of this perceived ideal - a normative frame in themes, reading and writing that also characterise the scope of literary criticism and theory. A survey of the Literature laureates indicates a conscious shift towards cosmopolitanism and multidisciplinarity through diversity in nationalities, professions, cultures, genres, and (gendered and ethnic) identities from which “ideal” writing is signposted as emerging. Recurring thematic concerns of these laureates include social justice, the centering of the ordinary, the commonplace and the individual, universal humanism, and empathy for everyday experiences manifest in identity, race, gender, war, politics, history, culture, diasporic and ethnic conflict. These reflect existing shifts in literary discourse that incorporate critical and cultural theory, affect, ecocriticism, globalisation, “crisis critique” and DEI into its disciplinary concerns (Barry, 2009; di Leo, 2023). Adopting a deconstructionist approach, and through a thematic, (critical) discourse analysis of the laureates’ public speeches of acceptance of the prize, the essay constructs a reflective commentary on literary theory and criticism, its (multi)disciplinarity and its (implications for the) expanded vision of the reading, writing/doing and normative role of literature in the 21st century.
Presenters
Nishevita JayendranAssistant Professor (Literature and Humanities), Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Literary criticism, Literary theory, Nobel acceptance speech, Critical Discourse Analysis
