1-800-DIAL-ECTC

I thought I was through with "the dialectic" when I graduated from college, but in my new job, I find myself trying to come up with exciting copy that'll sell this bugger of a concept. The same goes for mimesis, Augustinians, ideology, and anything Lacan.

Since most of the books we're hawking are meant for small coiteries of scholars who seem to spend a lot of time talking to themselves, pushing these ideas isn't a problem. In fact, think these guys eat this stuff up. It's when my boss wants to sell a book to the "informed public" that I cringe to read the word "dialectic" in the manuscript.

Other words, like gender, are an easy sell. Who doesn't love gender. Even if you don't really know what it means, you know what it means. Sometimes I get the feeling that about 10 years ago, people started slapping "gender" on a cover just like "new and improved." And now they can't stop.

Ethnography: Now with Gender!

I guess I shouldn't make too much fun. I was filled with a different social science, one briming with "bank hegemonic" goodness, "cultural products," and "content analysis." And my taste for literary criticism was soured by my 10th grade English teacher.