Reading textures
pp. 319-334
in: Martin Middeke, Christoph Reinfandt (eds), Theory matters, Berlin, Springer, 2016Abstract
While the term "texture' originally became part of the inventory of literary studies in the context of the formalist New Criticism in the early twentieth century, it has recently undergone a thorough renaissance. This chapter surveys the various theories of texture from the New Criticism to the present both in terms of their conceptualizations of "text' (e.g. John Crowe Ransom, Moritz Baßler; for these theories the stress would fall on "Textures', i.e. "Reading Textures') and in terms of their conceptualizations of the conditioning of reading processes in terms of phenomenology (Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick), cognitive aesthetics (Peter Stockwell), and communication/cultural practice (Richard H. R. Harper; for these theories the stress would fall on "Reading', i.e. "Reading Textures'). These latter theories would seem to be highly relevant for the debate about the possibility or even necessity of moving beyond the unspoken agenda of "critical reading' in literary and cultural studies, be it in terms of "uncritical reading' (Michael Warner), "surface reading' (Stephen Best and Sharon Marcus), or "reflective reading' (Rita Felski). Against this background, the chapter will discuss the potential and limitations of the notion of texture with regard to conceptualizations of media texts from poetry through narrative and comics/graphic novels to songs, video clips, and films on the one hand and with regard to theoretically grounded reading practices in academic contexts on the other.