The Institution of Criticism

288 Pages·1982·4.12 MB·English

by  Peter Uwe Hohendahl

The Institution of Criticism

The Institution
of Criticisrn
Peter Uwe Hohendahl
Cornell U niversity Press
¡thaca and London
This book has been published with the aid of a grant from the
Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Cornell University.
Copyright © 1982 by Cornell University Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or
parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University
Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850, or visit
our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
First published 1982 by Cornell University Press.
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2016.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hohendahl, Peter Uwe.
The institution of criticism.
Essays translated from German.
Includes index.
Contents: Introduction—Literary criticism and the public sphere—
The end of an institution?—[etc.]
1. Criticism—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Title.
PN85.H6 801'.95'09 81-15188
ISBN 978-0-8014-1325-4 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-5017-0718-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) AACR2
The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With the exeeption of the introduetion, aH essays in this vol­
ume have be en translated from the German. Henry J. Sehmidt
and Ronald Smith translated the three studies that first ap­
peared in my essay eoHeetion Literaturkritik und Offentlichkeit
(Munieh, R. Piper & Co. Verlag, 1974), and are presented here
as essays 1, 3, and 5. Their original titles are: "Literaturkritik
und Offentliehkeit" (first published in Lili: Zeitschrift für
Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik, Vol. 1, 1971); "Das Ende einer
Institution? Der Streit über die Funktion der Literaturkritik"
(first published in Revolte und Experiment: Die Literatur der sech­
ziger Jahre in Ost und West, Heidelberg, 1972); "Promoter, Kon­
sumenten und Kritiker: Zur Rezeption des Bestsellers" (first
published in Popularitat und Trivialitat, Vol. 4, Wiseonsin Work­
shop, edited by Reinhold Grimm andJost Hermand, Frankfurt,
1974). Sehmidt and Smith also translated essay 2, "Kunsturteil
und Tagesberieht: Zur aesthetisehen Theorie des spaten
Heine," whieh was originaHy published in Reinrich Reine: Artistik
und Engagement, edited by Wolfgang Kuttenkeuler (Stuttgart,
1977). 1 am indebted to J. B. Metzlersehe Verlagsbuehhandlung
for permission to reprint.
Three essays appeared in New German Critique: "The Task of
Contemporary Literary Criticism," in no. 7 (Winter 1976), trans­
lated by David Bathriek; "Prolegomena to a History of Literary
Critieism," in no. 11 (Spring 1977), translated by Jeannine
BlaekweH; and "Critical Theory, Publie Sphere, and Culture:
Jürgen Habermas and His Crities," in no. 16 (Winter 1979),
translated by Mare Silverman. AH these essays have been
5
Acknowledgments
amended slightly for this edition. I am grateful to the editors of
the journal for permission to reprint. Unless otherwise indi­
cated, the translations of quotations are those of the translators
or, in the case of the introduction, mine.
In the final preparation of the manuscript I was assisted by
Philip Brewster and Richard Bean, who helped me to revise the
translations. I am grateful for their advice. Finally, I thank Carol
Rosenzweig for typing the manuscript.
P.U.H.
1t haca, Ne w York
6
CONTENTS
11
INTRODUCTION
Literary Criticism and the Public Sphere 44
2 Art Evaluation and Reportage: The Aesthetic Theory oJ the
Later He ine 83
The End of an Institution? The Debate over the
3
Function rif Literary Criticism in the I960s 126
4 The Task rif Contemporary Literary Criticism 159
5 Promoters, Consumers, and Critics: On the Reception oJ the
Best-Seller 181
6 Prolegomena to a History of Literary Criticism 224
7 Critical Theory, Public Sphere, and Culture: Jürgen
Habermas and His Critics 242
281
INDEx
7

The Institution of Criticism