ENGLISH 420:  INTRODUCTION to LITERARY CRITICISM and THEORY 
   DR. JOLANTA W. WAWRZYCKA
   Russell Hall 106. Current Office Hours  E-mail: jolanta@radford.edu

  ABOUT THE COURSE:   The course covers selected texts of literary criticism from Aristotle and Plato to the 20th Century. The readings  are chosen on the basis of how well they contribute to our understanding of principles that govern literature and art. A  number of traditional and electronic lectures  will highlight  some aspects of historical and cultural background against which critical/theoretical thinking about language, art, and literature has developed. The lectures will also introduce key figures who fostered that thinking.  Aside from my lectures,  this seminar-like class will depend on in-class discussions of the assigned readings; as you read, you are expected to learn and use (and be critical of) the theoretical vocabulary present in the texts.

                    REQUIRED TEXTS:
(NORTON)  Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.  
(HCAL)        Guerin et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 
(JOYCE)      Dubliners (Viking)
(TiP)             Ann B. Dobie, Theory into Practice
(Abrams)      M. H. Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms

                     OTHER REFERENCES:
(Lynn)          Lynn, Texts and Contexts. Writing About Literature with Critical Theory
(ReJoycing) Bosinelli/Moser, eds, ReJoycing: New Readings of Dubliners. 

• Digital Portfolio: Packaging Research for Multimedia Presentations and
• Reading Logs for Literary Salons; Term Papers and Tests/Exams.
• Digital Portfolio Evaluation Form
• Presenter's Check Sheet

 McConnel Library; Literary Sites; 

COURSE  REQUIREMENTS AND CLASS POLICIES:

PRESENTATIONS will be worth 30% of your final grade (see the list at the end of syllabus). You are required to prepare a Digital Portfolio presentation; please, consult the Digital Portfolio Guidelines. NOTE two deadlines: 1) your printout of sample slides and a sample log is due at the end of Week 3 (10 slides, at least 3 pictures; include the opening/title slide [your name, course, term, and year] and title slide---your author, topic/title, etc); 2) most of your presentation is due at the end of Week 6. 
MIDTERM TEST  Week 8 (10%).
MyNotes PORTFOLIO (10%).
CRITICAL READINGS: JOYCE LOGS PORTFOLIO for "Literary Salon" discussions -- and
TERM PAPER DRAFT and CRITICAL FINAL PAPER worth 30% of your final grade.
FINAL CUMULATIVE EXAM (20%).
ATTENDANCE POLICY: only 3 absences will be excused (alarm clock malfunction; sickness; family wedding, etc). Each additional absence will come at a price of -3 points.
RULES and POLICIES: This class is your professional meeting, not to be interrupted by technological devices, so please, remember to turn off your cell phones and keep them out of sight: disruption of class by your cell will earn you dismissal from classroom and an absence. Users of lap tops, please, note that such unauthorized activities as web browsing, web casting, downloading, checking email or recording, will constitute a violation of RU Honor Code: if you choose not to comply, you will be dismissed and counted absent.  Because of messaging/communication capacities provided by cell phones and PCs, repeat offenders may find themselves facing charges of Academic Integrity violation(s).  By accepting admission to RU, each student makes a commitment to understand, support and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception.  This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:

WEEK 1:  Setting the Course Requirements
Monday 8/20  Wednesday 8/22 

• Introduction: syllabus and course content; class and course policies.
• Electronic classroom; electronic presentations. 

Friday 8/24

• Critical Approaches to Literature.

WEEK 2: History of Critical Thinking--Classical Thought
Monday 8/27 

• Quiz. Plato: 33-36. Discussion of Plato's "Ion." NORTON (MyNotes 1)

Wednesday 8/29

• Quiz. Discussion of selections from "Republic" Book II, III and VII. NORTON (MyNotes 2)

Friday 8/31

• Quiz. Aristotle: 86-89. Discussion of selections from Aristotle's "Poetics," parts 1-11; 13-19; 23-25.  NORTON (MyNotes 3)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Plot; Tragedy; Deus ex Machina; Meter) (MyNotes 4)

WEEK 3: History of Critical Thinking--Classical & Medieval Thought
Monday 9/3

• Quiz. Horace: 121-23.  Discussion of Horace's  "Art of Poetry" NORTON (MyNotes 5)
• (In Abrams, please look up:  Plot; Tragedy; Meter; ) (MyNotes 4; add Rhetorical Criticism from Abrams).

Wednesday 9/5

• Quiz. Longinus: 135-37.  Discussion of Longinus's "On the Sublime" NORTON part 1, 7, 8, 9 (see also 11, 12, 15, 17, 22, 32,  39) (MyNotes 6)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Sublime) (MyNotes 7)

Friday 9/8 Research day: I will be out of town for a conference. See Monday assignment and get a head start on reading.

WEEK 4:  History of Critical Thinking--Classical & Medieval Thought

Monday 9/10

• Quiz. Discussion of selections from Boethius (handout) & Aquinas (NORTON 240-246). (MyNotes 8)
•  Please look up definitions of: Allegory, Metaphor, Figure of Speech, & Figure of Thought in at least two sources.
• (In Abrams, please also look up Decorum; Figurative Language; Interpretation; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Figures;  Style) (MyNotes 9)

Wednesday 9/12

• Quiz. Discussion of selections Dante (NORTON 246-52) & Boccaccio's "Genealogy of the Gentile Gods" (NORTON 253-57).  (MyNotes 10)
• (In Abrams, please look up Decorum; Figurative Language; Interpretation; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Figures;  Style)) (MyNotes 9)

Friday 9/14

• Digital Portfolio Research Workshop. As you research your authors, please concentrate on biographical and bibliographical highlights.  The organizing principle of your presentation (and underlying question you are answering) is: what contribution did this author made to literary criticism? Why are we studying his/her work in a criticism/theory class? Your sample printout of slides and draft of your presentation log are due Friday.

WEEK 5:
Monday 9/17  Context for Discussions: In order to gain a better understanding of critical and theoretical approaches to literature, we will first discuss stories from James Joyce's Dubliners and use them as textual points of reference--or a base--for learning about how critical and theoretical readings work. I will make references to all of the stories, so, to make sense of my class discussion, please, read every story carefully (and take good notes in class). In addition to studying critical essays in Viking's Dubliners volume, consider also essays in  ReJoycing. If you miss  any of the next five classes, you will miss an important component of this course, including discussion of Joyce's own "critical" statements about the purpose of his work (e.g., Dubliners volume, pages 251-279; Epiphanies, etc).

• Digital Portfolio Lecture: "James Joyce: Irish core, European lore," Part Two. You cannot miss any of the Joyce classes below.

Wednesday 9/19

• Digital Portfolio Lecture:: "James Joyce: Irish core, European lore," Part One. You cannot miss this class.

Friday 9/21

• Quiz. "Literary Salon:" discussion of  "The Sisters," "An Encounter" & "Araby." Reading Log 1A due.

WEEK 6:
Monday 9/24  

• Quiz. "Literary Salon:" discussion of  "Eveline," "The Two Gallants," ("Counterparts") & "The Boarding House".  Reading Log 1B.  

Wednesday 9/26 

• Quiz. "Literary Salon:" discussion of   "A Mother" ("A little Cloud"), "Clay" & "A Painful Case".  Reading Log 1C; Dubliners Joyce Reading Log 1 due.

Friday 9/28

• Research day: I will be out of town for a conference.

WEEK 7: Transition: From Romantic Critical  Thought to Victorian and Modernist Criticism. 
Monday 10/1

• Digital Portfolio Research Workshop. As your research on selected authors progresses, please remember that the organizing principle of your presentation (and underlying question you are answering) is: what contribution did this author made to literary criticism? Why are we studying his/her work in a criticism/theory class?  By the way, do you have your opening slide?

Wednesday 10/3

• Presentation: William Wordsworth.
• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads"  (NORTON: esp. pp. 650a-51b; 655b-62b)
• Reading Log 2A due: Wordsworth: discuss parts devoted to language (quote/cite relevant passages): what is W's message in this "Preface"?  How does he define "poetry"?
• My introduction of Mathew Arnold's "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time" and his concept of "disinterestedness"  (add class noted to Log 2A)

Friday 10/5

• Presentation on T. S. Eliot
• "Literary Salon:" discussion of  T. S. Eliot's "Tradition and Individual Talent" (NORTON: 1092-1097)
• Reading Log 2B due: Eliot: how does he understand "tradition?" How does he view the poet's mind and emotions?  Focus on describing/paraphrasing his own statements.

WEEK 8: Formalism; New Criticism; Structuralism.  
Monday 10/8

• MIDTERM TEST.

Wednesday 10/10

• Give-away Quiz on the Intentional Fallacy and the Affective Fallacy (Wimsatt/Beardsley in NORTON 1374-78; 1387-1394; TiP 34-43; HCAL Chapter 5).  Discussion of Fallacies.  (MyNotes 11)
• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Formalism; Form & Structure; New Criticism; Affective/Intentional/Pathetic Fallacy.
• (In Abrams, please look up: Formalism; Form & Structure; New Criticism; Affective/Intentional/Pathetic Fallacy) (MyNotes 12)

•  Please study Structural and Post-Structuralist theories. TiP Chapter 8; HCAL Chapter 10  Sec. III), and prepare MyNotes 13. For MyNotes 14, in Abrams, please look up: Linguistics in Literary Criticism; Structuralist Criticism; Semiotics; Poststructuralism; Deconstruction). 

WEEK 9  Post-Structuralist and Deconstructive Thinking.
Monday 10/15

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of  Structural and Post-Structuralist theories. TiP Chapter 8; HCAL Chapter 10  Sec. III); (MyNotes 13)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Linguistics in Literary Criticism; Structuralist Criticism; Semiotics; Poststructuralism; Deconstruction) (MyNotes 14). 
•  Presentation:
  • Ferdinand de Saussure
  • Roland Barthes  

Wednesday 10/17

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Post-Structuralist/Deconstructive theories. TiP Chapter 8; HCAL p. 377-78.  (MyNotes 13) (MyNotes 14).
•  Presentation:
  • Jacques Derrida
• Principles of deconstructive reading: overview of  terminology. 
• Your Reading Log 4 entry for the class (use TiP, p. 154):  What would a deconstructive reading of Joyce's stories entail? 

Friday 10/19

• Your Reading Log 4 entry for the class (use TiP, p. 154):  What would a deconstructive reading of Joyce's stories entail? 

WEEK 10: Psychoanalytical and Myth/Archetype Approaches 
Monday 10/22

• Quiz. Psychological/Psychoanalytic approach to literature:  TiP Chapter 4;  HCAL  Chapter 6;  and on Mythology/Archetype: HCAL, Chapter 7.  (MyNotes 15)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Psychological & Psychoanalytical Criticism; Myth) (MyNotes 16)
• Your Reading Log 5 entry for the class (use TiP & HCAL): What elements of  Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"] would a mythology/archetype critic analyze?

Wednesday 10/24  Psychoanalytical and Myth/Archetype Approaches 

• Psychological/Psychoanalytic approach to literature continued: (MyNotes 15) (MyNotes 16)
• Presentations:
  •   Sigmund Freud & selections available in NORTON
• Your Reading Log 6 entry for the class continued: How would a Freudian psychoanalytic critic read Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"]?

Friday 10/26   Psychoanalytical Approaches: Freudian and Jungian Principles

• Psychological/Psychoanalytic approach to literature:
• Presentation:
  • Carl Jung and his concepts of collective unconscious, archetype, etc.
• Your Reading Log 7 entry for the class: How would a Jungian critic read Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"]?  

WEEK 11: Early and Modern Feminist / Cultural Thought
Monday 10/29 

• Quiz. "Literary Salon:" discussion of  Feminist theories: TiP Chapter 6;  HCAL Chapter 8. (MyNotes 17)
• Presentations:
  • Christine de Pizan  NORTON
  • Mary Wollstonecraft and  "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"   NORTON

Wednesday 10/31

• Discussion of "Literary Salon:" discussion of Feminist theories--presentations:
  • Virginia Woolf and "A Room of One's Own" NORTON
  • Elaine Showalter and her introduction to A Literature of Their Own (xerox)
• Your Reading Log 8 entry for the class: How would a feminist critic read Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"]?

Friday 11/2

• Discussion of "Literary Salon:" discussion of Feminist theories--presentations:
• Your Reading Log 8 entry for the class: How would a feminist critic read Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"]?
• In preparation for your Term Paper Workshop you are asked to select one of the critical approaches discussed so far and write a 5 page paper based on your Reading Logs. Use the strategies outlined in TiP. Your draft is due on 11/14.

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Marxist, Cultural, and New Historical theories; TiP Chapters 5 and 9; HCAL Chapter 9, Sec. II B. (MyNotes 18)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Marxist Criticism; Cultural Studies; New Historicism; Poststructuralism). (MyNotes 19)
• Presentations:
  • Karl Marx  NORTON

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Marxist, Cultural, and New Historical theories; TiP Chapters 5 and 9; HCAL Chapter 9, Sec. II B. (MyNotes 20)
• (In Abrams, please look up: Marxist Criticism; Cultural Studies; New Historicism; Poststructuralism). (MyNotes 21)
• Presentations:
  • Mikhail Bakhtin NORTON

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Reader-Response and Dialogism (HCAL Chapter 10, Sec. I & II; TiP, Chapter 7; in Abrams - Dialogic Criticism).
(MyNotes 22)
• Your Reading Log 9 entry for the class (use TiP and HCAL): Give an example of reader-response to a Joyce story.  How would a Bakhtinian critic read Joyce? 

Library Research and re-drafting of Final Papers.  Your draft is due on 11/14.

WEEK 13: Marxism; Dialogism; Cultural & New Historicist Criticism
Monday 11/12

• "Literary Salon:" discussion of Marxist, Cultural, and New Historical theories: (MyNotes 20) (MyNotes 21).
• Your Reading Log 10 entry for the class: How would a Marxist critic (TiP 88-89, 92) read Joyce's story of your choice [other than "Araby"] ?
How would a New Historicist critic (TiP 179, 181) read Joyce's story of your choice?  

Wednesday & Friday 11/14 & 11/16

• Paper workshop. You cannot miss the workshop. Have your draft in front of you regardless of its shape.
• Your Critical Readings: Joyce Log Portfolio is due after class.

WEEK 15: Term Paper Workshop
Monday 11/26

• Paper workshop: thesis statement..

Wednesday 11/28  Friday 11/30

• Final Paper Workshops (individual appointments).

WEEK 16: Term Paper Workshop
Monday 12/3

• Paper workshop-- presentations. You cannot miss this class. Term paper and Reading Log Portfolio due after class.  

Wednesday 12/5  Friday 12/7

• Overview.  Preparation for final exam. FINAL EXAM: 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12

Updated on  October 05, 2007

© 1996-2007 Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory
Jolanta W. Wawrzycka. All Rights Reserved.