ENGL 2112

ENGL 2112: Intro to Literary Theory

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 16:14:25 +0000

ENGL 2112: Intro to Literary Theory Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/24/2020 - 10:14

Introduces students to a wide range of critical theories that English majors need to know. Covers major movements in modern literary/critical theory, from Matthew Arnold through new criticism to contemporary postmodern frameworks. Required for all English majors.

Requisites: Restricted to English (ENGL) majors and minors only.
Additional Information:Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: General Literature and Language

Section 001 with Paul Neimann

This course introduces students to a wide range of critical theories that English majors need to know. We’ll begin with some basic questions about literary texts: How can we understand documents from the past? What is the critic’s role? How do words become literature? Classical and formalist approaches will help us with key concepts. We’ll also consider “theory” as a body of thought that has broadened our sense of what texts can tell us and what influences their production. We’ll pay particular attention to the movement known as structuralism. Our readings show how literary studies can overlap other disciplines and change our thinking; we’ll emphasize practical exercises and putting ideas in our own words.

Taught by Paul Neimann.

Section 002 with Catherine Labio

Some 2,400 years ago Plato worried the great tragedies he loved would need to be banned for his ideal Republic to function properly. The question of the role of poetry, broadly understood, has been debated ever since. Indeed, the COVID-19 era has once again highlighted the importance of literature and the arts. In this course, we shall enter into this conversation by studying modern and contemporary works from a wide range of fields in order to debate why literature matters to us individually and collectively and what studying it involves.

Works by such authors as Plato, Kant, Marx, Arnold, Saussure, Freud, Benjamin, Althusser, JFK, Derrida, Foucault, Sontag, hooks, Said, Lowe, and Piketty

Taught by Catherine Labio.

Section 003 with Jason Gladstone

This course is intended to introduce students to the most influential theoretical/critical movements that have shaped literary studies since 1945. Organized as a survey, the course will work towards a breadth of coverage, rather than undertaking in-depth analyses of any particular school or practice. We will examine works of new criticism, psychoanalysis, structuralism, and poststructuralism; media studies, postcolonialism, and posthumanism; and gender, racial, and queer theory. The emphasis of this course is to provide a foundation for further theoretical and literary inquiry.

Taught by Jason Gladstone.

Section 004 with Mark Winokur

This course will examine the major literary theory paradigms of the post-World War II era, including Marxism, structuralism, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, feminism, queer theory, race theory, body theory, and reader-response. We shall do readings of particular texts based on these theoretical paradigms. Class grade will be determined through exams, papers, presentations, and attendance. There will be two or three mandatory evening film screenings.

Taught by Mark Winokur.

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ENGL 2112: Intro to Literary Theory (Fall 2019)

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 21:37:15 +0000

ENGL 2112: Intro to Literary Theory (Fall 2019) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/20/2019 - 14:37

Requisites: Restricted to English (ENGL) majors and minors only.
Additional Information:Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: General Literature and Language

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ENGL 2112-100: Introduction to Literary Theory (Spring 2019)

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 18:36:12 +0000

ENGL 2112-100: Introduction to Literary Theory (Spring 2019) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/03/2018 - 12:36

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ENGL 2112-005: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018)

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 19:31:29 +0000

ENGL 2112-005: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/15/2018 - 13:31

Professor Eric White

This course will sample a variety of modes of theoretical discourse that have influenced contemporary literary and cultural studies. The emphasis in the course will be on breadth of coverage, and on comprehending the fundamental principles and assumptions of each theoretical ethos or orientation. To the extent that time permits, we will also apply selected theoretical approaches to specific works of literature and film.

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ENGL 2112-004: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018)

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 19:28:08 +0000

ENGL 2112-004: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/15/2018 - 13:28

Professor Mark Winokur

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ENGL 2112-003: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018)

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 19:25:06 +0000

ENGL 2112-003: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/15/2018 - 13:25

Literary theory has a reputation for being difficult, unfairly or not. Whatever the case, everyone approaches literature (or any sort of cultural production — film, painting, sculpture, website, fashion) with some preconception or assumption about how to read it, listen to it, see it, watch it, or otherwise interact with it. What we call “literary theory” (or “critical theory” or just “theory”) formalizes our assumptions on one hand and challenges them on the other. Literary theory pushes us to think harder about what it is we are studying, including literary theory itself. What is literature? Is there something special about literature as opposed to other forms of writing? To what other cultural forms and ideas is literature related? What theory is best suited for my analysis? How does adopting one theory over another limit my analysis? And so on.

This class will begin with Marxist theory, especially insofar as it introduces concepts such as value and history. In the second half of the class, we will spend time thinking about race and gender/sex in order to add to our knowledge and in an effort to see the limitations of Marxism.

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ENGL 2112-001: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018)

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 19:22:08 +0000

ENGL 2112-001: Introduction to Literary Theory (Fall 2018) Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/15/2018 - 13:22

Professor Karim Mattar

This course provides a survey of contemporary literary and critical theory. It is organized around a series of "keywords" in literary studies that are of established or new resonance in the reading, interpretation, and discussion of texts. Such keywords include, but are not limited to, "dialectics", "ideology", "unconscious", "différance", "discourse", "Orientalism", "postmodernism", "race", "gender", "queer", "environment", and "digital". With each, we uncover their philosophical origins, trace their historical development, and consider their current usages. Throughout the semester, we draw on a range of literary and cultural texts to demonstrate the interpretative fecundity of such core theoretical concepts.

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