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The Chicago school attempted to expand on Aristotle's notion of Catharsis , employing it to talk generally about the effect that dramatic works produce, and the moral implications of these effects. Their readings were often broadly Humanist . As a result, the Chicago school was criticized for depending too heavily on broad generalizations about the nature of humanity for its readings and ignoring the diversity of culture that exists in practice. Later Chicago critics attempted to embrace Pluralism instead of humanism, but they were still criticized as taking an essentially Eurocentric position.

Major Chicago school critics included R.S. Crane and Elder Olson . More recently, Wayne Booth has carried on the tradition of the Chicago school, as has James Phelan . Major works include Olson's ''Tragedy and the Theory of Drama'', the collection ''Critics and Criticism'' edited by Crane, and Booth's ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''.

The Chicago school were heavily influenced by Richard McKeon , the great Aristotelian scholar and Dean of the Humanities Division of the University Chicago, himself a contributor to ''Critics and Criticism,'' who also influenced other "Chicago Schools" in law, economics, psychology, and sociology.