ENG 3014 Gontarski Spring 2021

This course serves as an introduction to modern literary/cultural criticism. We will discuss some of the key questions that animate discussion among literary scholars today, including the nature of art, the relation between culture and power, and the interpretation of texts. Most of our time will be spent carefully reading and assessing the arguments in the essays that we read. We will also consider how literary theory has evolved over the last century within its various historical, social, and institutional contexts. Most of our reading will come from The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (3rd edition, 2018; ed. Vincent B. Leitch et. al.), but we will test our critical reading skills on a variety of other brief literary texts that relate to our theory reading. The course requirements include quizzes, a mid-term exam consisting of short essay questions, a final research project that will function as a final exam, and active and frequent participation in class discussion.

Learning objectives

1. become familiar with several influential critical and theoretical approaches to literature
2. grow adept at identifying and distinguishing among these approaches
3. enhance interpretive skills by thinking particular theoretical frameworks
4. refine writing skills through practice in expressing and supporting complex ideas