383 M LITERARY CRITICISM FROM 1800 TO THE PRESENT, Parker. TUTH 9:30-10:45
TOPIC: Contemporary Literary and Critical Theory
Same as C LIT 305

In many ways, contemporary criticism has reinvented the reading of literature and culture. This course, as an advanced, survey-introduction to recent critical theory and method, prepares students for graduate study in literature and criticism. It is not a literature course, and the readings will be extremely difficult. Therefore, if you sign up halfheartedly or just to fill a blank space in your schedule, you are likely to regret it. On the other hand, if you want to pursue advanced graduate study in English or a related field, or if you have a serious interest in learning about critical theory, this may be just the course for you. The class is designed for ambitious juniors and seniors who have taken a good number of literature courses and for graduate students in English and other departments who have little background in critical theory. Graduate students need to learn this material if they are not familiar with it already; English graduate students may also choose from English 400. Undergraduates seeking a more introductory course may prefer English 200. In English 383, we will proceed through a series of cumulative, overlapping units on new criticism, structuralism, deconstruction and poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, feminism, queer studies, marxism, post-colonial theory, new historicism, and cultural studies. Anyone considering the course is welcome to talk with me before registering (my office is EB 329) and may also wish to talk with people who have taken earlier versions of the course. Attendance is crucial (starting with the first class), because we will be studying a language, building a set of terms and concepts that we will continue to use and build on through the semester. Other requirements include active participation in class discussion, two or three papers, and probably a take-home final. Because I continually watch for new materials for this course, the list of books below may change. Regardless, the books listed below represent only a small proportion of the reading and will be supplemented by extensive additional materials.

TEXTS: Keith Booker, A Practical Introduction to Literary Theory and Criticism; Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction; Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics; and possibly Lois Tyson, Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide.