LEADER 05406nam 2200757Ia 450 001 9910967400303321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a9786612424137 010 $a9781282424135 010 $a1282424130 010 $a9780299151737 010 $a0299151735 035 $a(CKB)1000000000817132 035 $a(OCoLC)44961797 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10342348 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000252332 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11194020 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000252332 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10175875 035 $a(PQKB)10170796 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3444880 035 $a(Perlego)4386102 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000817132 100 $a19960410d1996 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aStreet smarts and critical theory $elistening to the vernacular /$fThomas McLaughlin 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aMadison $cUniversity of Wisconsin Press$dc1996 215 $a1 online resource (192 p.) 225 1 $aWisconsin project on American writers 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 08$a9780299151744 311 08$a0299151743 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 169-177) and index. 327 $aIntro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction-Theory outside the Academy: Street Smarts and Critical Theory -- 2. Cultural Theory and Social Activism in the Southern Christian Antipornography Movement -- 3. Criticism in the Zines: Vernacular Theory and Popular Culture -- 4. Stories of the New Age: Narrative, Healing, and Transformation -- 5. The Cunning of the Hand, the Weakness of the Heart: Theoretical Work in the Advertising Profession -- 6. The Teachers Meet the Experts: Vernacular Theory in the Whole Language Movement -- 7. Pedagogy and Vernacular Theory -- Works Cited -- Index. 330 8 $aEverybody's got a theory... or do they? Thomas McLaughlin argues that critical theory-raising serious, sustained questions about cultural practice and ideology-is practiced not only by an academic elite but also by savvy viewers of sitcoms andTV news, by Elvis fans and Trekkies, by labor organizers and school teachers, by the average person in the street. Like academic theorists, who are trained in a tradition of philosophical and political skepticism that challenges all orthodoxies, the vernacular theorists McLaughlin identifies display a lively and healthy alertness to contradiction and propaganda. They are not passive victims of ideology but active questioners of the belief systems that have power over their lives. Their theoretical work arises from the circumstances they confront on the job, in the family, in popular culture. And their questioning of established institutions, McLaughlin contends, is essential and healthy, for it energizes other theorists who clarify the purpose and strategies of institutions and justify the existence of cultural practices. Street Smarts and Critical Theory leads us through eye-opening explorations of social activism in the Southern Christian anti-pornography movement, fan critiques in the 'zine scene, New Age narratives of healing and transformation, the methodical manipulations of the advertising profession, and vernacular theory in the whole-language movement. Emphasizing that theory is itself a pervasive cultural practice, McLaughlin calls on academic institutions to recognize and develop the theoretical strategies that students bring into the classroom. "This book demystifies the idea of theory, taking it out of the hands of a priestly caste and showing it as the democratic endowment of the people."-Daniel T. O'Hara, Temple University, author of Radical Parody: American Culture and Critical Agency after Foucault and Lionel Trilling: The Work of Liberation. "McLaughlin takes seriously the critical and theoretical activity of everyday people and does so in a way that will empower these very populations to take seriously their own activities as theorists.... A manifesto that is sure to be heard by the younger generation of thinkers in American cultural studies."-Henry Jenkins, MIT, author of Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture 410 0$aWisconsin project on American writers. 606 $aAmerican literature$xHistory and criticism$xTheory, etc 606 $aPopular literature$xHistory and criticism$xTheory, etc 606 $aCriticism$zUnited States$xHistory$y20th century 606 $aLiterature$xPublic opinion$zUnited States 606 $aCriticism$xPublic opinion$zUnited States 606 $aLanguage and culture$zUnited States 606 $aPopular culture$zUnited States 606 $aCanon (Literature) 615 0$aAmerican literature$xHistory and criticism$xTheory, etc. 615 0$aPopular literature$xHistory and criticism$xTheory, etc. 615 0$aCriticism$xHistory 615 0$aLiterature$xPublic opinion 615 0$aCriticism$xPublic opinion 615 0$aLanguage and culture 615 0$aPopular culture 615 0$aCanon (Literature) 676 $a810.9 700 $aMcLaughlin$b Thomas$f1948-$0251434 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910967400303321 996 $aStreet smarts and critical theory$94356444 997 $aUNINA