Critical Theory

Romance Studies participates in a longstanding tradition at Cornell of scholarship that bridges literary theory and criticism with philosophical approaches to literature, language and culture. At the heart of this intersection are diverse methods –ranging from critical theory and psychoanalysis to the philosophy of language and deconstruction, from poetics and intermediality to post-structuralism– for interrogating the social, ideological and historical structures at play in the production of literary works as well as investigating the relation between meaning production, critical analysis and subject formation.

This field of inquiry is concerned principally with questions related to practices of reading and critical modes of interpretation that allow for new insights into power, subjectivities, race, gender, the politics of representation, visuality, memory, the writing of history, and new ways to explore the relation between technological and literary innovation. Through a vast array of methodological and theoretical approaches, scholars working in this area seek a deeper understanding of the ways in which literature, in relation to different concepts, registers, genres, and media, makes meaning possible.

Related people

Image of Gerard Aching
Gerard Aching

Retired W. E. B. DuBois Professor in the Humanities

Image of Timothy C. Campbell
Timothy C. Campbell

Professor of Italian Studies

Image of Julia Chang
Julia Chang

Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies

Image of Laurent Dubreuil
Laurent Dubreuil

Professor of French, Francophone & Comparative Literature

Image of Laurent Dubreuil
Laurent Dubreuil

Professor of French, Francophone & Comparative Literature

Image of María Antonia Garcés
María Antonia Garcés

Professor Emerita of Hispanic Studies

Image of Mitchell Greenberg
Mitchell Greenberg

Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Romance Studies

Image of Cary Howie
Cary Howie

Professor of Romance Studies

Image of Patricia Keller
Patricia Keller

Associate Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature

Image of Kathleen Perry Long
Kathleen Perry Long

Professor of French

Image of Tracy McNulty
Tracy McNulty

Professor

Image of Marilyn Migiel
Marilyn Migiel

Professor of Romance Studies, Kappa Alpha Professor in Literature

Image of Marilyn Migiel
Marilyn Migiel

Professor of Romance Studies, Kappa Alpha Professor in Literature

Image of Edmundo Paz-Soldan
Edmundo Paz-Soldan

Professor of Latin American Literature

Image of Simone Pinet
Simone Pinet

Professor of Spanish and Medieval Studies

Image of Simone Pinet
Simone Pinet

Professor of Spanish and Medieval Studies

Image of Karen Pinkus
Karen Pinkus

Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature

Image of Enzo Traverso
Enzo Traverso

Susan and Barton Winokur Professor in the Humanities

Image of Marie-Claire Vallois
Marie-Claire Vallois

Associate Professor of French Literature

All research areas

Aesthetics & Media Studies    Critical Studies of Race, Gender & Sexuality    Critical Theory    Early Modern Studies    Literary Cartographies    Medieval Studies    Political Thought   
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