Competence, Complicity and Complexity: Hsu-Ming Teo on the Pitfalls and Nuances of Reading and Researching Popular Romance

Abstract

[eng] In this interview, writer and academic Hsu-Ming Teo analyses the Misconceptions made by feminist critics in their approach to romantic fiction. An outstanding representative of the third wave of romance criticism, Teo highlights the pitfalls and nuances of reading popular romances and explains that current criticism relies on a distinctive genre reading competence, a respectful complicity with readers’ viewpoints and the recognition of the diversity of voices and experiences the genre is giving visibility to. All of these aspects call for interdisciplinary approaches that consider both textual and paratextual aspects.