"Criticism and Turth, or, the Epistemology of Close Reading"

 What does it mean to be interdisciplinary while inhabiting one’s discipline? Can work in literature and the humanities tell the truth? Can science? The English Department welcomes Jonathan Kramnick to the University of Rhode Island for a public lecture that aims to tackle such questions. Famous for his work in cognitive literary studies, Kramnick’s recent publications have begun to re-examine the foundations of what we do as literary scholars engaged in interdisciplinary conversations. How do readers investigate and produce knowledge? Is reading a method, and what kind of truth claims do readings make? By addressing methods of literary criticism and the epistemology of close reading, Professor Kramnick will attempt to answer these questions as he examines literary criticism from diverse cultures, ethnicities, and historical moments. 

Jonathan Kramnick is the Maynard Mack Professor of English at Yale University