Brian Siano wrote:
>
>
> Empowering? Frankly, literary theory strikes me as one of the most
> _crippling_ things ever devised. I've rarely seen anyone with a
> background in literary theory acquire power, or even demonstrate an
> ability to deliver power to those who need it most. Instead, those who
> excel at literary theory seem to succeed only in academia, and maybe the
> media once in a while. Those who develop skills in science, math,
> medicine, law, or engineering really _are_ empowered.
>
You, of course, have just written a paragraph of literary theory. Not very good literary theory, rather unconscious literary theory, rather arrogant literary theory in its apriori dismissal of all literary theory which disagrees with your theory, but literary theory nonetheless, and to be judged as to its adequacy as a theory of literature.
Carrol