"This book analyzes and provides a history of the theory of the text,' which has been a central doctrine in literary and cultural criticism over the past twenty-five or so years. This is a project which to my knowledge has not been systematically attempted by any other scholar, and Mowitt's discussion is subtle, deft, and provocative."--Richard Terdiman, University of California, Santa Cruz

John Mowitt is Associate Professor of Humanities and English at the University of Minnesota.