Summary of Jonathan Culler's Literary Theory

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#1 The term theory is used in literary and cultural studies to describe a wide variety of things. It is not a comprehensive theory of things in general, but rather an activity. It can mean reading difficult psychoanalytical, political, and philosophical texts.

#2 The word theory has two meanings. It can signify speculation, as in the theory of relativity. It can also signify a set of established propositions. In general, to be a theory, an explanation must not be obvious, it must involve a complex set of relations among a number of factors, and it must not be easily confirmed or disproved.

#3 Theory in literary studies is not a description of the nature of literature or methods for its study, but a body of thinking and writing that has widespread implications beyond its original field. The works in this genre are not tied to arguments in a specific field, but they become theory because their visions or arguments have been suggestive or productive for people who are not studying those disciplines.

#4 The main effect of theory is the dispute of common sense: common-sense views about meaning, writing, literature, and experience. Theory questions the most basic premisses or assumptions of literary study, such as what is meaning, what is an author, and what it means to read.

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