Joyce's writing is itself theoretical through and through, and much can be gleaned from mapping the developments in Joyce studies that have, in their own variously focused theoretical readings, identified, analyzed, evaluated and creatively re-enacted the crucial gestures of Joyce's texts.

This study sets out to map the genealogy of a possible location of "Joyce" and "theory" in present-day James Joyce studies, demonstrating how the encounter between Joyce and theory changes the what and the how of reading, producing both a Joyce-again of theory and Joyce-inflected theory.