ENGLISH 621:  PRINCIPLES of LITERARY CRITICISM and THEORY 
   DR. JOLANTA W. WAWRZYCKA
   Young Hall 308. 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.

 TEXTBOOKS:

• (NORTON)  Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.
• (JOYCE)       Dubliners (Viking).
• (TiP)              Ann B. Dobie, Theory into Practice.
• (Abrams)       M. H. Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms.
• (ReJoycing)  Bosinelli/Moser, eds, ReJoycing: New Readings of Dubliners (optional; on reserve, Library).
• (HCAL)        Guerin et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (optional; on reserve, Library).
• 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
• Literary Sites; McConnell Library;

COURSE  REQUIREMENTS AND CLASS POLICIES:
PRESENTATIONS will be worth 20% of your final grade. Because you are required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation, please, consult the Research Guidelines for Packaging Multimedia Presentations but note that your presentations will be mainly "thematic" rather than biographical. In addition Ito nternet research, please make every effort to include course textbooks in your presentation. For your convenience, I will collect rough samples of your presentation (week 7: 8-10 slides, a few thematic illustrations; please include the opening slide [your name, course, term, and year] and title slide---your author, topic/title, etc). In addition, I invite you to make your final PowerPoint program available to me for a previewed a few days before you present.   
CRITICAL READINGS LOG PORTFOLIO (details will follow) 30%
CRITICAL TERM  PAPER (details will follow) 30% of your grade.
FINAL EXAM  (details will follow) 20% of your final grade.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: only 2 absences will be excused. Each additional one will come at a price of -4 points.

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. 

WEEK 1: 1/8  Setting the Course Requirements

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

WEEK 2: 1/15  No class: holiday.

WEEK 3: 1/22  Context for Critical/Theoretical Discussions:   James Joyce  LOG 1

To gain a better understanding of how critical and theoretical approaches are applied to literature, we will discuss stories from James Joyce's Dubliners and use them as textual points of reference--or a base--for learning about how criticism and theory work. Please, read every story carefully and, in addition to studying critical essays in Viking volume of Dubliners, consider also the essays in  ReJoycing.  If you miss any of these classes, you will miss an important component of this course--the literary base and context for discussions of critical theoretical schools of thought, including discussion of  Joyce's own "critical" statements about the purpose of his work (see  Dubliners volume, pages 251-279; Epiphanies, etc).

• PowerPoint Lecture on James Joyce: Irish core, European lore.
• Discussion of James Joyce's Dubliners; in class we will focus on "The Sisters," "An Encounter," "Araby," "Eveline," "The Two Gallants," ("Counterparts," "A Little Cloud,") "The Boarding House," "Clay," "A Mother" and "A Painful Case." ("The Dead").

WEEK 4: 1/29   Context for Critical/Theoretical Discussions:   James Joyce  LOG 1 cont.

• Discussion of James Joyce's Dubliners; in class we will focus on "The Sisters," "An Encounter," "Araby," "Eveline," "The Two Gallants," ("Counterparts," "A Little Cloud,") "The Boarding House," "Clay," "A Mother" and "A Painful Case." ("The Dead").

WEEK 5:  2/5    History of Critical Thinking--Classical Thought  LOG 2

• NORTON - Discussion of:
• Plato: 33-36. Plato's "Ion" and  selections from "Republic" Book II, III and VII.  
• Aristotle: 86-89. Selections from Aristotle's "Poetics," parts I1-11; 13-19; 23-25.
• (In Abrams, please look up: Inspiration; Tragedy; deus ex machina; Meter)

WEEK 6:   2/12  History of Critical Thinking--Classical & Medieval Thought  LOG 3

• NORTON - Discussion of :
• Horace: 121-23. Horace's  "Art of Poetry."
• Longinus 135-37 and his "On the Sublime" 1, 7, 8, 9 (see also 11, 12, 15, 17, 22, 32,  39).
• Selections  from Boethius (xerox) & Aquinas (240-246),  Dante (246-62) & Boccaccio's "Genealogy of the Gentile Gods" (253-57).  
• Please look up definitions of Allegory, Metaphor, Figure of Speech, & Figure of Thought in at least two sources.
• In Abrams, please also look up Sublime; Decorum; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Figures; Figurative Language; Style.

WEEK 7:  2/19  Transition:  From Romantic Critical  Thought to Victorian and proto-modern Criticism.  LOG 4

• NORTON - Discussion of:
• William Wordsworth:  "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" (esp. pp. 650a-51b; 655b-62b).
• Mathew Arnold and "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time"  (esp. passages on pages 813b-816a; 822; 823b-825). 
• T. S. Eliot: "Tradition and Individual Talent."
• Your Log 4: Section on Wordsworth: discuss parts devoted to language (quote/cite relevant passages): what is W's message in this "Preface"?  Section on Arnold: discuss the concept of "disinterestedness."  Section on Eliot: how does he understand "tradition?" How does he view the poet's mind and emotions?  For now, focus on describing/paraphrasing his own statements.

WEEK 8: 2/26  Transition: From Romantic Critical  Thought to Victorian and proto-modern Criticism.  LOG 5

• Intentional Fallacy and the Affective Fallacy (Wimsatt/Beardsley in NORTON, 1374-78; 1387-1394).  Discussion of Fallacies. 
• Discussion of Formalism & New Criticism: TiP Chapter 3;
• In Abrams, please look up: Formalism; Form & Structure; New Criticism; Affective/Intentional/Pathetic Fallacy.
• Add-on to your Joyce Log 1A:  include comments on how a formalist critic would read Joyce's story of your choice (TiP 34-43).

WEEK 9:   3/5   Psychoanalytical and Myth/Archetype Approaches  LOG 6

• Psychological/Psychoanalytic & Mythological studies of literature:  TiP Chapter 4 & Abrams.
• Presentations:
  • Freudian & Lacanian Criticism.  Offer examples of Freudian reading of Joyce. 
  • Carl Jung, Northrop Frye & Mythological criticism. Offer an example of  reading Joyce through myth.
• Add-on to your Joyce Log 1B: include comments on how a psychoanalytic or mythological critic would read Joyce's story of your choice.

WEEK 10:  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   3/12  SPRING BREAK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WEEK 11:   3/19  Early and Modern Feminist Thinking and Feminist Critical Thought  LOG 7

• Feminist theories: TiP Chapter 6 and Abrams. 
• Presentations:
  • Early pre-feminist thinkers: Christine de Pizan & Mary Wollstonecraft.
  • Modern Feminist thinkers: Virginia Woolf and Elaine Showalter.
• Add-on to your Joyce Log 1C: include comments on how a feminist critic would read Joyce's story of your choice.

WEEK 12:  3/26   Structuralism Post-Structuralist and Deconstructive Thinking  LOG 8

• Structuralist and Post-Structuralist theories. TiP Chapter 8 & entries in Abrams.
• Significance of Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes.
• Presentation:
  • Jacques Derrida and the Derrida Factor (discussion  of principles of deconstructive reading; overview of  terminology). 
• Add-on to your Joyce Log 1D: include comments on how a structuralist would read Joyce's stories.  What would a deconstructive reading of Joyce's stories entail? 

WEEK 13:  4/2   Research day: will be out of town.

WEEK 14:   4/9  Marxist and New Historicist Criticism  LOG 9

• Marxist, Cultural, and New Historical theories; TiP Chapters 5 and 9;  Abrams.
• Presentations:
  • Karl Marx; Louis Althusser & other Marxist thinkers. 
  • Mikhail Bakhtin and the Bakhtin Factor (principles of dialogic reading; overview of  terminology). 
• Add-on to your Joyce Log 1E: include comments on how a Marxist critic would read Joyce's story of your choice.

WEEK 15:   4/16  Term Paper Workshop. 

• Paper workshop. Have your Joyce Logs 1A-1E with you.

WEEK 16:   4/23 Term Paper.  It's a Wrap...

• Paper workshop. Draft presentations. Term paper and Joyce Logs 1A-1E due after class.  
• Overview.  Preparation for final exam.

FINAL EXAM: 5:30 pm., Wednesday, May 2

Choices for  Presentations:

Updated on August 21, 2007

© 2007 Principles of Literary Theory and Criticism
Jolanta W. Wawrzycka. All Rights Reserved.