"Smith's prose is filled with rich insights and original thinking...with informed, cogent arguments capable of altering the course of disciplinary thinking. this ability to affirm and encourage internal heterogeneity and contradiction while simultaneously struggling for external solidarity in maintaining a strong social and political conscience could serve as an exemplary identity for the future of English studies." John Clifford, College English

"Smith has brought together and scrutinized a wide range of issues and arguments in an intellectually and politically challenging way." Thomas E. Lewis, MMLA Journal

"Paul Smith expertly treats the status of the 'subject' in critical and political discourse, and carefully explores possibilities for individual initiative, resistance, and social change as these are articulated by major literary and cultural theorists." William E. Cain, The South Carolina Review

"Discerning the Subject will set the standard for discussions in 'theory' for some time to come. Books with the range and sophistication of Smith's perform a powerful promise for the future of theoretical discourse and practice in the humanities." Alan Kennedy, Dalhousie Review