Critical Inquiry
Encyclopedia
Critical Inquiry is a peer-reviewed academic journal
in the humanities
published by the University of Chicago Press
. It is considered a leading journal within literary studies, and particularly in the field of critical theory
.
The journal was founded in 1974 by Wayne Booth, Arthur Heiserman and Sheldon Sacks, and is currently edited by W. J. T. Mitchell
. The journal has been the site of a number of important debates within literary studies. It was where Stanley Fish
published his article "Interpreting the Variorum", in which he proposed his idea of interpretive communities
, as well as where M. H. Abrams
and J. Hillis Miller
had a well-known debate about deconstruction
. It was also where Jacques Derrida
published his essay in memory of Paul de Man
.
The journal is known for having a particularly well-known set of editors and editorial board, including Lauren Berlant
, Bill Brown
, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Arnold Davidson
, Elizabeth Helsinger, Françoise Meltzer, Richard Neer and Joel Snyder as editors, and Stanley Fish, Fredric Jameson
, Homi K. Bhabha
and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
as members of the editorial board. Edward Said
was on the editorial board until his death.
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
published by the University of Chicago Press
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
. It is considered a leading journal within literary studies, and particularly in the field of critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
.
The journal was founded in 1974 by Wayne Booth, Arthur Heiserman and Sheldon Sacks, and is currently edited by W. J. T. Mitchell
W. J. T. Mitchell
William J. Thomas Mitchell is the Gaylord Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago. He is also the editor of Critical Inquiry, and contributes to the journal October....
. The journal has been the site of a number of important debates within literary studies. It was where Stanley Fish
Stanley Fish
Stanley Eugene Fish is an American literary theorist and legal scholar. He was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island...
published his article "Interpreting the Variorum", in which he proposed his idea of interpretive communities
Interpretive communities
Interpretive communities are a theoretical concept stemming from reader-response criticism and invented by Stanley Fish. They appeared in an article by Fish in 1976 entitled "Interpreting the Variorum". Fish's theory states that a text does not have meaning outside of a set of cultural assumptions...
, as well as where M. H. Abrams
M. H. Abrams
Meyer Howard Abrams is an American literary critic, known for works on Romanticism, in particular his book The Mirror and the Lamp. Under Abrams' editorship, the Norton Anthology of English Literature became the standard text for undergraduate survey courses across the U.S...
and J. Hillis Miller
J. Hillis Miller
Joseph Hillis Miller, Jr. is an American literary critic who has been heavily influenced by—and who has heavily influenced—deconstruction.- Early life and education :...
had a well-known debate about deconstruction
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
. It was also where Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
published his essay in memory of Paul de Man
Paul de Man
Paul de Man was a Belgian-born deconstructionist literary critic and theorist.He began teaching at Bard College. Later, he completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in the late 1950s...
.
The journal is known for having a particularly well-known set of editors and editorial board, including Lauren Berlant
Lauren Berlant
Lauren Berlant is the George M. Pullman Professor of English at the University of Chicago, where she has been teaching since 1984. Berlant received her Ph.D. from Cornell University...
, Bill Brown
Bill Brown (critical theory)
Bill Brown is a professor of English at the University of Chicago. He occupies the named chair previously held by Wayne Booth and has served as the chair of the University's English Language and Literature Department. His work focuses on American literature, with his second book, A Sense of Things,...
, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Arnold Davidson
Arnold Davidson
Arnold I. Davidson Ph.D. is Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor in Philosophy, Comparative Literature, History of Science, and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Chicago. He is also a member of the Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science at Chicago and a...
, Elizabeth Helsinger, Françoise Meltzer, Richard Neer and Joel Snyder as editors, and Stanley Fish, Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
, Homi K. Bhabha
Homi K. Bhabha
Homi K. Bhabha is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language, and the Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. He is one of the most important figures in contemporary post-colonial studies, and has coined a number of the field's neologisms and...
and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., is an American literary critic, educator, scholar, writer, editor, and public intellectual. He was the first African American to receive the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards for his teaching, research, and...
as members of the editorial board. Edward Said
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and a founding figure in postcolonialism...
was on the editorial board until his death.