ENGL 301

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Introduction to Critical Theory

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, which might include (but are not limited to) critical race studies, environmental theory, 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. Restricted to English majors.

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ENGL 301 class schedule data for fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
50625	Lecture-Discussion	C	10:00AM -10:50AM	MWF	English Building	Basu, M	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Info: FA26 ENGL 301 - Introduction to Critical Theory - Manisha Basu - On the books, this course promises to offer a survey of the major critical and theoretical movements that have influenced the study of literature in more than 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 Posthumanism. 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).
54605	Lecture-Discussion	M	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	Psychology Building	Newcomb, J	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Restriction(s): Restricted to English or Creative Writing or Creative Writing major(s) or minor(s).
50626	Lecture-Discussion	S	12:30PM -1:45PM	TR	Burrill Hall	Loughran, T	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Section Info: FA26 ENGL 301 - Introduction to Critical Theory - Trish Loughran - In this course, we will survey major developments in the history of thinking hard from the eighteenth century to today. Along the way, we will ask a series of interrelated questions about the rise of critical reason that this thing we call “theory” both performs and critiques. For example: was the Enlightenment (and its radically new emphasis on reason) emancipatory or repressive? How did such patterns of thinking emerge alongside material developments like the rise of capitalism, colonialism, and decolonization? Are aesthetics essentially a-political or does art participate (for good or bad) in the world of politics and power? Can historical consciousness serve as a corrective to the gross inequities of the world we have inherited from the past, or is History (with a capital H) a Trojan horse left behind amongst the wreckage of the Enlightenment? And what does any of this have to do with language, literature, and/or culture more broadly? Like any survey, we will cover a lot of big broad ideas along the way (like Marxism, structuralism, poststructuralism, feminism, queer theory, and postcolonialism). But rest assured (newcomers), we will do our best to work through these unwieldy abstractions in a way that: a) makes sense, b) challenges you, and c) does not put any of us to sleep (or drive us crazy). This is, in short, an introduction to the history of such ideas, and any lively, alert, thinking reader should be able to keep up. A large part of this class is about WHAT theory says. But an even bigger part is simply about learning HOW to read theory. And we will do that by doing what we do in every English class: by reading the text itself closely. Restriction(s): Restricted to English or Creative Writing or Creative Writing major(s) or minor(s).