Crisis in the Profession, or the Failure to Imagine the New.

This article analyzes three recent books by Bruce Robbins, Jonathan Kramnick, and John Guillory that address the current state and crisis of literary criticism as an academic discipline. Despite their differences, the authors share assumptions about literary criticism’s focus on reading literature, reliance on a predominantly male theoretical canon, and neglect of philosophies centered on judgment, experience, and subjectivity. Robbins defends politically engaged criticism rooted in leftist traditions but critiques Rita Felski’s postcritique approach with polemical hostility; Kramnick emphasizes formalist close reading as a craft producing truth through quotation techniques, drawing on positivist ideas; and Guillory offers a historical and sociological account of literary criticism’s professionalization, highlighting institutional resistance to change. The article concludes that these works collectively reveal a discipline resistant to innovation, with limited engagement with new paradigms or diverse voices, and that meaningful change may depend on generational shifts within the profession.