>you mean aristotle? ;-)
>
>j
no kidding. i don't know who wrote that bit that claimed a difference between taking on the position of objective observer v. forcing theory up against reality but they are the same thing. one assumes that the observer isn't part of the world she studies--or, rather, that one can use techniques and methods to abstract those effects from reaility--and the other assumes that the one doing the pushing isn't part of the reality being pushed.
was it justin who said that lit crit should do lit crit? yes. lit crit ain't social theory, although it _uses_ social theory (general and substantive) and philosophy. it doesn't do theory, as far as i can tell. i've asked litcritters to explain what social theory is and how they contribute to it, but never any takers. anyway, lit crit does deal with texts and, while agreeing with justin, i would expand the def. of what a text is. videogames are texts.
of course, i think i'm about in the same spot i was a few years ago when i earned the name snitgrrRl.
kelley