
Philosopher's Zone What are we doing when we read?
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Nov 26, 2025 In this discussion, Audrey Wasser, an Assistant Professor at Miami University and literary theorist, delves deep into the complexities of reading. She explores what it truly means to read, highlighting the tension between passive reception and active interpretation. Audrey brings to light the hermeneutics of suspicion, how critics like Marx and Freud influence our understanding, and critiques Derrida's deconstruction. The conversation also touches on the rise of affect-focused readings and the construction of texts, revealing how material pressures affect literary criticism.
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Reading Is An Active, Complex Process
- Reading is not a passive pouring of meaning from text into mind; it's a complex, indeterminate activity.
- Critics have long debated how texts produce meaning rather than contain it.
Suspicion Versus Surface
- Hermeneutics of suspicion reads texts for hidden meanings beneath surface claims.
- This style became a target for critics tired of perpetual negativity and contortion of texts.
What Surface Reading Argues
- Surface reading urges attention to what a text actually says rather than excavating hidden depths.
- Proponents counter that depth-focused theory often forces texts into external agendas.






