THE CEA FORUM - Summer/ Fall 2015 - Violating Pedagogy: Literary Theory in the Twenty-first Century College Classroom

Oct 15, 2026

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The essay argues that teaching literary theory in twenty-first century college classrooms is both mentally taxing and deeply rewarding, and that its value depends on a deliberate pedagogy of “intellectual violation.” It explains how theory inducts students into disciplinary communities through specialized jargon, while also functioning as a marker of distinction. More centrally, theory helps learners discover new ideas, ask fresh and difficult questions, and generate intellectually and emotionally satisfying meanings, even when early encounters produce pain and confusion. It also critiques standard textbook divisions into rigid theoretical schools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time1 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Violating Pedagogy: Core Claims

Theory as Community Induction and Distinction

Pain, Confusion, and Why Theory Matters

Disrupting Standard Theoretical School Boundaries

THE CEA FORUM Summer/ Fall 2015 Violating Pedagogy: Literary Theory in the Twenty-first Century College Classroom Heather GS Johnson Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Undergraduate and graduate students in the field of English Studies often know, from students who have gone before or from previous experience, that the usually-required course on literary theory is likely to be one of the hardest they will take. While some will look forward to the challenge, others will approach the course with dread. Such a course is also one of the most difficult to teach, posing a whole series of problems that require inventive solutions. Both teacher and student are likely to find the course mentally taxing, but the potential for payoff is massive; the depth and quality of thinking that emerges out of class discussion can be astonishing. And delightfully invigorating. And sometimes just plain fun. But it takes time, effort, and to put it bluntly, a bit of pain to get to those moments. To make the literary theory course worthwhile, the teacher and students have to willingly practice a pedagogy of intellectual violation, one that gently but deliberately undermines core beliefs, firmly held ideological stances, and common-sense assumptions about who we are and what we do. One way to THE CEA FORUM Summer/ Fall 2015 approach the literary theory course is to embrace theoretical opportunism, a stance which deliberately rejects any theoretical school’s claim to dominance or “rightness.” When teaching the graduate version of my course, I willingly admit to my students that one function of the study of theory is induction into the literary studies community. Every scholarly group has its own language, and that language is used for more than mere communication. The ability to use field-specific jargon is a badge of belonging, and speaking the code fluently is a way of signaling one’s expertise and authority. In advanced academic circles, knowing some theory is required if one wishes to walk the walk and talk the talk.1 In a field that is actually quite fragmented, where members of the same department or attendees of the same conference might study very different topics, literary theory is one place of significant overlap. A specialist in American Southern Regional Literature might read very different materials and know very different authors than a British Medievalist, African American Literature specialist ora Romanticist, but all four are likely to have read Derrida, Butler, Freud, and Fanon in the course of their studies. Because theory is notoriously difficult, it also functions as a mark of distinction. The writer or speaker who can reference theoretical ideas with confidence and accuracy is marked asan expert and accorded at least a measure of respect.2 But I maintain—vociferously—that institutional belonging is only one minor benefit of studying literary theory in the 21st century. THE CEA FORUM Summer/ Fall 2015 More importantly, reading and “doing” theory helps one to discover new ideas, ask new questions (and old ones in fresh ways), confront difficult and sometimes painful complexities, and locate or create meaning that is intellectually and emotionally satisfying. Theoretical engagement has the potential to engender a new kind of critical conscious that reshapes our vision, not just of literature and culture, but of the whole human-made world in which we live. Furthermore, literary theory can help us to clarify our roles as analysts of culture; it gives us purpose and direction. The paragraph above might seem to have painted literary theory as all sweetness and light, a balm for the troubled analyst’s soul and solution to the confusions and incoherencies that naturally arise around any complex use of language. Certainly, theory can ground reading practices, giving them weight and direction, but the process is not easy and often anything but“sweet.” The fact is this: a reader’s early experiences wi

FAQs

Why does the author describe teaching literary theory as difficult and taxing?

The author says both teachers and students are likely to find the course mentally taxing, because it demands inventive teaching responses and engages painful, complex material that can produce confusion early on.

How does studying theory function beyond belonging to a scholarly community?

The author argues that theory helps students discover new ideas, ask fresh and difficult questions, confront complexities, and locate meaning that is intellectually and emotionally satisfying, reshaping how they view literature, culture, and the human-made world.

What does the author mean by a “pedagogy of intellectual violation”?

It is a teaching approach that gently but deliberately undermines core beliefs, ideological stances, and common-sense assumptions, including by violating conventional boundaries between theoretical schools.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS