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Tuesdays, 6:00 – 8:50 pm - NDH 255, plus one
hour/week online
Office: NDH 239
Office hours: 4:00 – 5:30 pm Tuesdays, after
class, and by appointment
Phone: (w) 414-248-4810, ext. 395
E-mail: please send to both siegelkr@core.com and
siegelkr@mtmary.edu
Websites:
Homepage: www.kristisiegel.com
Syllabus – www.kristisiegel.com/litcrit
Introduction to Modern Literary Theory – www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm
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"The time for sterility is past, grateful as we must remain to
the masters of demystification. Derrida's carte postale does
have both destiny and destination; it is the universe, a universe movingly
informed by human will, mind, belief, whatever else may have formed
it. Without some radiancy, wonder, wisdom, we all risk, in this postmodern
clime, to become barren." --Ihab Hassan, The Postmodern Turn
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Site Links: |
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Esthetics Objectives:
The esthetics
realm emphasizes the human relationship to beauty. Students study
literature, music, art, drama and dance to understand and appreciate
this relationship. By means of the core courses in this realm, the
student is to:
- develop
an esthetic awareness of the human person and her environment
- use her
creative expression for her own pleasure or for sharing
- confront
the expression of the human person's creative nature and to develop
a respect for it
- improve
critical judgment and artistic taste
Objectives for the English Department:
The English
Department offers three majors—English, English Middle/Secondary
Education, and English Professional Writing—and a number of
minors relating to these fields. Accordingly, the departmental objectives
are broad in scope and courses may focus on some of the objectives
more than others:
- to investigate
the human condition
- to think
critically and with understanding about written and filmed media
- to broaden
and deepen the ability to write effectively in academic and professional
settings and for personal growth
- to practice
the forms professional writers use and learn the technology needed
to make writing a profession
- to reflect
on ethical and philosophical issues raised whenever one reads
a creative, explanatory, or persuasive text
- to engage
in creative thought, in collaboration with other students, thus
generating new possibilities for thinking, dreaming, and challenging
structures in society
Course Description:
The course
focuses on critical theory as it applies to literature and culture.
Review of classical Greek origins of issues concerning the nature
of literature and criticism. Study of major twentieth-century theories
and applications: historical, formalist, archetypal, psychoanalytic,
Marxist, reader-response, New Historicist, feminist, postcolonial,
American multicultural, structuralist and various post-structuralist
perspectives.
Course Objectives*:
- Students
will be able to articulate the broader ways in which literary
theory applies to their own culture, global culture, and their
own lives;
- Students
will demonstrate through written work and in-class comments their
ability to apply various theories to works of literature and aspects
of contemporary culture;
- Students
will write a substantive paper (10+ pages) that demonstrates their
ability to compare and synthesize the theories presented;
- Students
will demonstrate their ability to articulate theoretical concepts
orally by their class participation and formal presentation of
their final paper; and
- Students
will locate, cite, and intelligently incorporate several sources
(including print materials) into their final paper and shorter
essays.
*See “Assignments
and Grading” below for correlation between objectives and
assignments.
Assignments and Grading:
- 2 shorter
papers (4-5 pages) - 20%
Demonstrates course objectives 1, 2, and 5 listed above
- 1 final
paper/project (10-12 pages) - 25%
Demonstrates objectives 1, 3, and 5 listed above
- Presentation
of final paper - 10%
Demonstrates objectives 1, 4, and 5 listed above
- Discussion
Question responses - 5%
Demonstrates objectives 1 and 2 listed above
- 2 Short-Answer
Exams - 30%
Demonstrates objectives 1 and 2 listed above
- Participation
- 10%
Demonstrates objectives 1, 2, and 4 listed above
Required Texts:
- Tyson, Lois.
Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York:
Garland Publishing, 1999.
- Italo Calvino.
Cosmicomics. Harvest/HBJ, 1976.
- F. Scott
Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. Notes & Preface by
Matthew J. Bruccoli. Simon & Schuster, 1995.
- CD-ROM containing
lectures, discussion questions, and other materials for online
component
- Literature
packet
- Readings
by theorists (handouts)
Highly Recommended:
- A handbook
of critical terminology (e.g., M. H. Abrams’ Glossary
of Literary Terms).
Late Papers:
Late papers
will not be accepted without serious cause and may be subject to
a lower grade.
Attendance:
You are expected
to attend class every week and also listen and participate in the
weekly online component. Please contact me if you need to miss class.
It is your responsibility to find out what work you have missed.
More than two absences may result in a lower or failing grade.
Special Accommodations:
Mount Mary
College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
which stipulates that the College will make reasonable accommodations
for persons with documented disabilities. If you have a disability
that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which
you may require accommodation, please see Toni Wulff, Associate
Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, or Marci Ocker, Coordinator
of Disability Services (NDH 152) so that such accommodations may
be arranged.
Academic Honesty:
In keeping
with the values of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and the Mount
Mary mission, the College is an academic community dedicated to
the intellectual, social and ethical development of each of its
members. In keeping with these goals, all students are expected
to strive for integrity in both academic and non-academic pursuits.
Acts that involve any attempt to deceive, to present another’s
ideas as one’s own, or to enhance one’s grade through
dishonest means violate the integrity of both the student and the
College. A faculty member has the right and authority to deal with
such violations the first time they may occur with a given student;
however, a student who commits multiple violations against academic
integrity shall be subject to administrative disciplinary action,
which may include suspension or dismissal from the College.
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Course Calendar
Foundations
& Traditional Approaches
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Before Week One |
If
possible, read The Great Gatsby and Cosmicomics. |
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Literature
& the Text
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Week One |
Tuesday,
January 24
Introduction
Discussion questions:
- Why study literary
theory?
Basic Questions/Basic
Terms
Traditional Approaches –
- Biographical/Historical
- Genre
Criticism
Basic literary terms
and overview
Literary Excursion: “To His Coy Mistress” – Andrew Marvell
(poetry packet)
Introduction to Aristotle and Plato
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below:
Send answers to discussion
questions by 6:00 pm on Sunday, January 29th:
- Briefly, outline
specifically Plato’s beliefs regarding poets. Why did Plato believe
poets
needed to be banished?
- “Aristotle
Award” – In one concise paragraph of no more than 260 words,
explain the
most important aspects of The Poetics. First and second place
awards will be determined.
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Week Two |
Tuesday,
January 31
Discussion on Plato and Aristotle
Literature & the Text – New Criticism and Formalism
- website
link
- Tyson, “New
Criticism,” 117-152
Literary Excursion:
“I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” – Emily Dickenson or
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" - Robert Frost (literature
packet)
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Online
Hour
Discussion question:
- Re-read Tyson's
interpretation of The Great Gatsby. Identify and explain the
devices
of New Criticism Tyson uses as she analyzes The Great Gatsby.
Send your response
by e-mail by 6:00 pm, Sunday, February 5th.
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Literature
& Psychology |
Week Three |
Tuesday,
February 7
Literature & Psychology - Psychoanalytic Criticism
- website
link – Freud
Tyson, “Psychoanalytic Criticism,” 13-45
Literary Excursion: “Once Upon a Time” – Nadine Gordimer
(literature packet)
• Jacques Lacan (brief overview)
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Online
Hour
- Lecture on archetypal
criticism
- Archetypal
Criticism - website
link
- Literary
Excursion: “The Distance of the Moon” – Cosmicomics
- Send response
to discussion question by 6:00 pm, Sunday, February 11th:
- Identify and
discuss some of the many archetypes evident in Calvino's "The
Distance
of the Moon"
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Literature
& Audience |
Week Four |
Tuesday,
February 14
Literature & Audience - Reader-Response Criticism- website
link
Tyson, “Reader-Response Criticism” 153-191
Literary Excursion: "The Story of an Hour"
- Kate Chopin
5 Stories of an Hour
(video) |
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Online
Hour
Using the brief handout on Reception Theory handed out
in class, consider one text
(a poem, story, film, drama, etc.) that you read a long time ago and then
re-read. Using
the concept Hans Robert Jauss refers to as "horizons of expectation"
(which is generally
used in reference to different historical periods rather than to stages
in the life of an individual
reader), as well as its reformulation by Wolfgang Iser, write a short
report on how and why
you originally interpreted the text, and how--at a later date--your interpretation
changed.
How did your changed "horizons of expectation" affect your interpretation?
Send your response by e-mail by 6:00 pm, Sunday,
February 19th.
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Literature
& Socioeconomics |
Week Five |
Tuesday,
February 21
Literature & Socioeconomics – Marxism- website
link
Tyson, “Marxist Criticism,” 49-78
Film Excursion: Excerpt from The Women - 1939 film directed by
George Cukor
Topic building for essay due February 28
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Online
Hour
Work on your essay (due February 28) |
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Literature
& Culture
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Week Six |
Tuesday,
February 28
Essay no. 1 due.
Literature & Culture - New Historicism - website
link
Tyson, 277-311
Film Excursion: Excerpt from Where the Boys Are, 1960 |
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Online
Hour
Literature & Culture - New Historicism
“The Structures of Punishment” – Michel Foucault
(handout)
Discussion question:
What panoptic structures can you identify in today's society? Send your
response by e-mail by 6:00 pm, Sunday, March 12.
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Week
Seven – Spring Break |
Week Eight |
Tuesday,
March 14
Continued discussion on Michel Foucault
Literature & Culture - Feminism - website
link
Tyson, “Feminist Criticism,” 81-113
Brief discussion of "Little Red Riding Hood"
Literary Excursion: “Without Colors” - Cosmicomics
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Online
Hour
Literature & Culture – Feminism
Read the material below:
- "Sorties:
Out and Out: Attacks/Ways Out/Forays" - Helene Cixous
- "The Company
of Wolves" - Angela Carter
Discussion questions:
1) We discussed the traditional version of the fairytale "Little
Red Riding
Hood" in class; identify the ways in which Carter's version "re-writes"
gender roles, 2) Cixous
begins her essay by citing a number of binaries - what is her point?,
and 3) In the section
where Cixous quotes Joyce ("Bridebed, childbed, bed of death")
what is the traditional
trajectory (life) she sees for women vs. men?
Send your responses by e-mail by 6:00 pm, Sunday March 19.
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Week Nine |
Tuesday,
March 21
Recap on Feminism
In-class short-answer test
Literature & Culture – Postcolonialism- website
link
Tyson, 363-417
Movie Clip: The King and I
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below; discussion questions TBA.
Literature & Culture – Postcolonialism
"Orientalizing the Oriental" - Edward Said |
Week Ten |
Tuesday,
March 28
Continued Discussion
on Postcolonialism
Literature & Culture - American Multiculturalism
Tyson, 380-400 & 417
Literary Excursion: “The Dinosaurs” – Cosmicomics
Movie clip: White
Man's Burden, 1995.
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below; discussion questions TBA.
Toni Morrison, “Black Matters”
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Literature,
Language & Its Structures of Meaning |
Week Eleven |
Tuesday,
April 4
Essay no. 2 due
Literature, Language & Its Structures of Meaning - Structuralism
and Semiotics - website
link
Tyson, 197-237
Literary Excursion: “The Light-Years” – Cosmicomics
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below; discussion questions TBA.
Literature, Language & Structures of Meaning - Structuralism
and Semiotics
"The World of Wrestling" - Roland Barthes |
Week Twelve |
Tuesday,
April 11
Structuralism (cont.)
Literature, Language & Its Structures of Meaning – Modernism
& Postmodernism - website
link
"Postmodernism" (handout) - small group discussions
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Thursday,
April – Easter (no online class) |
Week Thirteen |
Tuesday,
April 18
Literature, Language & Its Structures of Meaning – Post-Structuralism
& Deconstruction
- website
link
Tyson, 241-274
Excerpt from film: Derrida - produced in 2002
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below; discussion questions TBA
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Week Fourteen |
Tuesday,
April 25
Literature, Language & Its Structures of Meaning – Poststructuralism
& Deconstruction
Derrida (cont.)
Readings TBA
Literary Excursion: “A Sign in Space” - Cosmicomics
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Online
Hour
Lecture on the readings listed below; discussion questions TBA.
Extensions of postmodernism – Visual Culture (short
readings by Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord)
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Week Fifteen |
Tuesday,
April 25
Discussion of Visual Culture theorists
Rebuttals of Poststructuralism – Neo-Pragmatism in
brief
Project Day – in-class work on papers (projects) and mini-conferences
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Online
Hour
Overview/Intersections/Review of Course
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Week Sixteen |
Tuesday,
May 2
Papers due/ Presentations on papers
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Exam |
Tuesday,
May 7
Presentations on papers (continued)
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Bibliography
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- Bertens, Hans.
Literary Theory: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge,
2001
- Bressler, Charles
E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.
3rd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.
- Bertens, Hans.
Literary Theory: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge,
2001
- Culler, Jonathan.
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, 2000.
- Davis, Robert
Con, and Ronald Schleifer. Contemporary Literary Criticism: Literary
and Cultural Studies (4th Edition). Longman, 1988.
- Dobie, Ann B.
Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism.
Thomson, 2002
- Eagleton, Terry.
Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota
P, 1983.
- Green, Keith and
Jill LeBihan. Critical Theory & Practice: A Coursebook.
London and New York: Routledge, 2004.
- Groden, Michael,
and Martin Kreiswirth. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory
and Criticism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994
- Guerin, Wilfred
L. et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.
4th Ed. New York: OUP, 1999.
- Hall, Donald E.
Literary and Cultural Theory: From Basic Principles to Advanced
Application. Boston: Houghton, 2001.
- Jefferson, Anne.
and D. Robey, eds. Modern Literary Theory: A Comparative Introduction.
London: Batsford, 1986.
- Keesey, Donald.
Contexts for Criticism. 4th Ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2003.
- Latimer, Dan.
Contemporary Critical Theory. San Diego: Harcourt, 1989.
- Lentriccia, Frank.
After the New Criticism. Chicago: Chicago UP, 1980.
- Lodge, David,
with Nigel Wood. Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader. 2nd
Ed. London: Longman, 1988.
- Magill, Frank
N, ed. Critical Survey of Literary Theory. Pasadena: Salem
Press, 1987.
- Makaryk, Irena
R., ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches,
Scholars, Terms. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1993.
- Murfin, Ross and
Ray, Supryia M. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2003.
- Natoli, Joseph,
ed. Tracing Literary Theory. Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1987.
- Patai, Daphne
and Will H. Corral. Theory's Empire: An Anthology of Dissent.
New York: Columbia UP, 2005.
- Sarup, Madan.
An Introductory Guide to to Post-Structuralism and Postmodernism.
Athens: U of Georgia P, 1989.
- Selden, Raman
and Peter Widdowson. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory.
3rd Ed. Lexington: U of Kentucky P, 1993.
- Staton, Shirley
F., ed. Literary Theories in Praxis. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania
P, 1987.
- Tyson, Lois. Critical
Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York & Long: Garland
Publishing, 1999.
- Walder, Dennis,
ed. Literature in the Modern World: Critical Essays and Documents.
2nd Ed. OUP, 2004.
- Wolfreys, Julian.
ed . Introducing Literary Theories: A Guide and Glossary .
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003.
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