Bad Writing's Back

The whole affair shows that in fact bad writing is a joint academic/public matter, and to broach it as one would in a professional journal article or seminar presentation is to continue to theorize as if theory were never in doubt. In “interrogating the terms” of “bad” or “difficult” indictments, the contributors follow an academic routine, sometimes very well, but they miss how the hubbub challenged the social and political meaning of their work. —Mark Bauerlein —Bad Writing’s Back (Philosophy and Literature)