Dan Sinykin, a distinguished English professor at Emory, joins novelist Brandon Taylor, McGill's Alexander Manshel, and USC's J.D. Connor to delve into literary sociology. They discuss whether the institutional turn in criticism carries a feminine ethos and its ties to the Post45 Collective. The conversation highlights the limitations of data-driven diversity initiatives in literature and critiques historical biases against women's literary contributions. They also explore the balance between collective engagement and intrinsic literary qualities, alongside the evolving dynamics of literary criticism.
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Brandon Taylor's Spreadsheet Critique
Brandon Taylor critiques the "spreadsheet men" for reducing literature to racial and quantitative analysis.
He values singular artistic expression over data-driven publishing trends.
insights INSIGHT
Quantification Risks in Criticism
Quantification in literary studies risks adopting capitalist rationalization logic.
Starting analysis with numbers can obscure underlying ideologies influencing literature.
insights INSIGHT
Data vs. Literary Criticism
Quantitative analysis describes publishing, not literature itself.
Human interpretation must transform data into meaningful literary critique.
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The Neapolitan Novels, also known as the Ferrante Quartet, are a series of four novels by Italian author Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend (2011; translated by Ann Goldstein, 2012), The Story of a New Name (2012; translated by Goldstein, 2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2013; translated by Goldstein, 2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2014; translated by Goldstein, 2015). The novels were originally published in Italian by Edizioni E/O. The series was critically acclaimed and translated into several languages. A TV series based on the first novel premiered on HBO in 2018.
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A so-called Spreadsheet Man responds. Does the institutional turn have a distinctly feminine ethos? [27:30] How is it rooted in the Post45 Collective? [49:00] What are its debts to New Historicism and Marxist Literary Criticism? [69:00] And to Fredric Jameson? [84:30] And what has become of Economic Criticism? [94:00]
Cast (in order of appearance): Dan Sinykin, Matt Seybold, Brandon Taylor, Rachel Sagner Buurma, Laura Heffernan, J. D. Connor, Alexander Manshel, Fredric Jameson, Leigh Claire La Berge
Soundtrack: DownRiver Collective
Narration: Nathan Osgood & SNR Audio
For more about this episode, including a complete bibliography, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/TheAmericanVandal/SpreadsheetMen, or subscribe to Matt Seybold's newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.substack.com
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