Today’s social movements aim at the inclusion of gifted souls in the dominant structure rather than at the revolutionary transformation of social relations.

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The need now is for readers who will challenge the bloodless, technocratic explication of texts: amateur readers who will come up with what may appear to be naïve, even innocent, interpretations. Today’s students have been prevented by a knowing, sophisticated criticism from seeking such wisdom in modern literature. -- Declan Kiberd

I found the above quotes in a fascinating article in the Times Online entitled "Ulysses: A book for Dustmen as well as Dons," actually an excerpt from a larger work, Ulysses and Us by Declan Kiberd. Though I have never read Joyce's Ulysses, this article does much to pique my interest about the work. Obviously it won't be a short read, but perhaps it is true that it's a necessary inclusion in one's lifetime reading list. I enjoyed the review for what it is, too, not just an analysis of a piece of writing but a social criticism which, whether reflective of what James Joyce actually thought or not (I have no idea), certainly encourages you to think about the issues of modern literature, literacy, and literary scholarship.