Romancing Theory, Riding Interpretation

«Asserting that theory has consequences and requires responsiveness, Ranjan Ghosh gives us a volume that persuasively demonstrates the consequences of an (in)fusion approach to literary interpretation partly through the invited responses of critics who challenge, extend, and apply this hermeneutic theory. Ghosh skillfully sets up the demonstration with a provocative introduction that explains his (in)fusion approach as a creative cross-cultural appropriation of interpretive concepts and ideational correspondences. The collected essays then enact the very cross-cultural critical engagement Ghosh advocates, as they move from theory to practice beginning with theoretical comparisons to Foucauldean reception study and ending with an array of applied readings of Salman Rushdie’s novels. Romancing Theory, Riding Interpretation definitely shows that theory is alive and well in the so-called post-theory age.» (Steven Mailloux, President’s Professor of Rhetoric, Loyola Marymount University)