“NATURALIST” criticism, NOT “cognitive,” NOT “Darwinian” – A Quasi-Manifesto

Abstract

This was originally published in The Valve, now defunct, on March 31, 2010. It is an informal manifesto in a quasi-conversational style – pseudo-Socratic? – for my work in literary criticism. Acknowledging that literary criticism has long become a game in which one must have a label for one’s approach, I chose the term “naturalist.” After acknowledging that the term is problematic in a humanities context. I go on to explain why I’ve chosen it to designate my work and, in particular, to differentiate it from “cognitive” criticism and “literary Darwinism,” with which it has superficial affinities.

I could link a lot more into this piece now, but I won't. It's a decent indicator of the directions I’ve been pursuing.

Keywords: literary criticism, cognitive criticism, Darwinian literary criticism