Literary Studies as a Science: New Opportunities, Old Hazards

Skrendo explores the scientific status of research in the humanities. Looking at the problem from a historical perspective, he reaches back to the anti-positivist turn and argues that the transformation that began at that time was about finding a common ground for all sciences. From a theoretical perspective, Skrendo’s argument draws on constructivist approaches, broadly understood, from Fleck and Kuhn to Luhmann and Latour. These researchers help us develop non-positivist approaches to the humanities’ scientific assumptions and goals.