ENGL 301

Spring 2022 All Classes

All Classes

Introduction to Critical Theory

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Credit: 3 hours.

Introduction to the critical frameworks and methods that have had the greatest impact on the field of literary studies. Students will read, discuss, and write about numerous theoretical approaches, including (but not limited to) critical race studies, ecocriticism, feminism, Marxism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, queer theory, and structuralism. No previous background with theory is required.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement; one year of college literature or consent of instructor. For majors only.

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ENGL 301 class schedule data for spring 2022
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
48565	Lecture-Discussion	D	11:00AM -11:50AM	MWF	336 Davenport Hall	Basu, M	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/18/22-05/04/22 Section Info: SP22 ENGL 301 - On the books, this course promises to introduce you to the basic terrains of literary criticism, or more specifically, it promises to offer a survey of the major critical and theoretical movements that have influenced the study of literature in the last half a century, taking you through a whirlwind tour of new criticism, structuralism and narratology, deconstruction and poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, feminism, queer studies, Marxism, new historicism, cultural studies, critical race theory, postcolonial studies, and reader response. This particular section of the course will indeed introduce you to the above, but it will do so, with the literary text always at the center of the discussion. In other words, you will read about the emergence of a specific theoretical movement, and then you will read a short story or novel or folk tale and analyze it such that you yourself may practice the critical trend you have just learnt about. In some cases, you will also read an essay that models such an analysis so that there will be an already existing template for your practice. Finally, the course also asks that you read and analyze film versions of the texts we will be reading. Thus, popular media and film criticism will also be a part of the critical/theoretical trends that you will study. Restriction(s): Restricted to English or Creative Writing or Creative Writing major(s) or minor(s).
48564	Online	Q	12:30PM -1:45PM	TR	n.a.	Nazar, H	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/18/22-05/04/22 Section Info: SP22 ENGL 301 - Topic (Critical Approaches) This course invites reflection on how we interpret and write about literature. Is there something distinctive about literary language and the experience of reading literary texts? What makes a poem a poem? How does a short story differ from a newspaper report? What do we need to know about an author and her times to understand a given work? Who or what creates literary meaning—the author, the reader, interpretive communities? Does the study of literature have any relevance outside the academy? What is the relationship between literature and politics? English 301 explores these and related questions and considers some of the most influential responses they have received since the 1940s, from schools such as Marxism, feminism, critical race theory, postcolonial theory, disability studies, queer theory, post-humanism, environmental humanities, and others. Course readings will include a blend of theoretical and literary works Restriction(s): Restricted to Creative Writing or English or Creative Writing major(s) or minor(s).
48566	Lecture-Discussion	S	2:00PM -3:15PM	TR	113 Davenport Hall	Oh, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/18/22-05/04/22 Section Info: SP22 ENGL 301: Introduction to Critical Theory This course will offer students an intellectual survey of modern critical theory. It will introduce students to the movements and debates that have shaped literary studies and offer students a toolkit through which to interpret literary and cultural texts. The theories we will explore include: new criticism, structuralism, poststructuralism and deconstruction, psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, postcolonial theory, new historicism and cultural studies, critical race theory, and ecocriticism. While we will have a small shared archive of short texts like Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby,” Anton Chekhov’s “Lady with the Dog,” Juliana Spahr’s “Unnamed Dragonfly Species” and Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” students will mainly be responsible for reading and discussing the primary theory. Together we will consider the intellectual trends that have shaped our understandings of language, representation, the human mind, gender and sexuality, capitalism, race, the environment, and power. Restriction(s): Restricted to English or Creative Writing or Creative Writing major(s) or minor(s).