About the Book: Literature, In Theory: Tropes, Subjectivities, Responses and
Responsibilities
Jacques Derrida has argued about the difference between literature and theory
that despite its institutional status, part of its 'institution is the right of
literature to say anything. Literature cannot be defined as such, and as soon as
one seeks to produce a reading of the literary, complications arise. Yet despite
its institutional significance, 'theory remains something many wish would go
away; and which, for others, is still not read, is misread, and remains to be
read. Like literature, it remains as an enigmatic identity, resistant to
definition, but subject to misperceptions and open to general