Theory Colloquium
The Theory Colloquium is an organization of graduate students that supports the discussion of cultural criticism, theories of literature and language, and critical traditions across disciplines. We invite scholars, writers, and teachers of literary theory and language to present the English Department with recent work; we also sponsor panels and the informal study of texts central to the field. In the past our programs have included talks on Jean-Claude Milner, Gilles Deleuze, and Paul de Man, as well as reading groups on Marx’s Capital and Sartre’s Critique of Dialectical Reason. The Theory Colloquium aspires to strengthen methodological commitments across the English Department and other disciplines. As part of our effort to serve the entire community, we are keen to coordinate with other colloquia, and we welcome the participation of all students and faculty, regardless of specialty. For a list of events from 2018-2019, please see below; to get involved, please contact Jessica Terekhov, Ali Mctar, or Russ Leo.

Past Events
Joan K. Copjec is an American philosopher, theorist, author, feminist, and prominent American Lacanian…
Professor Chow will discuss her recent book, A Face Drawn in Sand: Humanistic Inquiry and Foucault in the Present (Columbia University Press, 2021), with follow up discussion with the author.
This event has been canceled.
Avicenna and the Aristotelian Left: A Q&A Discussion
Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.
Old English Scribbles: The Intersection of Materiality and Performativity
Reception in the Thorp Library to follow talk.
Meaning in Context
Applied Historical and Corpus Linguistics
Meaning in Language: A Computer's Perspective
Disciplines of Language
Co-sponsored by the Theory Colloquium and the Princeton University Graduate School.
- David Bellos, Department of Comparative Literature
- Emmanuel Bourbouhakis, Department of Classics
- Jeff Dolven, Department of English
- Christiane Fellbaum, Department of Computer Science
- Una Stonjić, Visiting Assistant Professor (FA18), Department of Philosophy--Princeton University
Lyric Thinking: Humanism, Poetry, Modernity
Please review introduction prior to talk. Introduction available from Mary Prokop ([email protected])
Reception in Thorp Library following talk.
Migrants and Truth Production, 1400-1700
A daylong conference on the significance of migration to the literary, cultural, and intellectual history of the early modern period, featuring a keynote from Christopher Wood, Professor of German at New York University.
A conversation with Paul North, Professor of German at Yale, about his 2015 study of Franz Kafkaâ's ZÃrau Aphorisms.
This event was a collaboration between our colloquium and Comparative Literature, German, Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and the Theory Colloquium. Professor Balfour gave a lively presentation on the aesthetics of the sublime and inversion.
Affiliated Institution:
18th C./Romantic Studies…