Theory Across Disciplines

What can theory do today? This is the question to which these vibrant, diverse, abrasive, and politically savvy essays gathered in Di Leo’s compendium answer in many voices. The polyphony offered results in a crash course on theory’s recent inventions and interventions. A metamorphosed theory rejuvenated by interdisciplinarity, spliced in original assemblages, sloughing off old skins and new masks, destabilizes, rethinks and re-founds our happily undisciplined disciplines. * Jean-Michel Rabaté, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA * In this splendid volume, you can learn about fields ranging from architecture and biology to literature and systems science while receiving an education about theory itself—its kinds, histories, futures, and, above all, the lesson that any discussion of method must be a question for theory, lest we lose our way. Theory Across Disciplines is a truly innovative book that’s indispensable to all levels of study. * Andrew Cole, Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, Princeton University, USA * This timely collection examines theory’s multifaceted presence in disciplines ranging from the humanities and social sciences to the natural sciences and beyond. By engaging with various conceptions of theory, this essential work provides a comprehensive map of theory’s role in contemporary academic discourse. Scholars and students alike will find this volume invaluable for understanding how multidisciplinary theory shapes and advances knowledge. * Alex Taek-Gwang Lee, Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Kyung Hee University, South Korea *