“Ways of Reading” presents an interview with Sharon Marcus in which she discusses the influential and controversial concept of “surface reading.” The interview covers the genealogy of the concept, its difference from symptomatic reading, its relation to description, and other issues in contemporary method in literary criticism. It also addresses some of the debate about the concept and offers one revision. Additionally, the interview also surveys Marcus's influential work in comparative literature, notably on the spaces in fiction in French and English literature in her book Apartment Stories and the homosocial relations among women in Victorian literature in her book Between Women. Last, it discusses coediting the new journal Public Books.
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