English 2140 Sample Syllabus 2
SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 2140
INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STUDIES
Semester Year
Georgia State University
Meeting Schedule, Location
Instructor:
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Description and Objectives: This course provides an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of literary study. Beginning with an overview of how literary criticism historically evolved, we will explore a variety of contemporary approaches to reading and understanding literature, including Marxism, feminism, deconstruction, and New Historicism. Throughout the course, critical methodologies will be examined in terms of both their theoretical and practical implications: that is, we will study each critical “school” through its foundational, often abstract principles and assumptions, as well as through critical essays which apply those principles to the interpretation of well-known poems, plays, short stories, and novels. Students will be encouraged, in their writing and contributions to class discussion, to compare and contrast the various critical methodologies in terms of what they can and cannot tell us about literary texts. Class activities will consist of lectures, discussion (in small and large groups), response papers, an in-class presentation, and a final essay.
After this class students will be able to:
· discuss the complexity of the concept of “literature”
· identify and explain the fundamental features of the genres of poetry, fiction, and drama
· analyze literature and explain how various components of literature work together to create meaning.
· define key literary, critical, and theoretical terms/concepts and implement these in oral/written discussion as well as in literary interpretation
· recognize, compare, and evaluate major critical theories and apply them to works of literature
· perform basic research using various research tools and bibliographies
· analyze critical secondary sources on literature
· critique literature using both primary and secondary sources
· describe, examine, and evaluate their own reading practices and oral/written critical analyses
· apply writing and revision as tools for understanding literature and its interpretation
Required Texts (available at the Georgia State bookstore):
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 3rd ed.
Beidler, Peter G., ed. The Turn of the Screw. By Henry James. Bedford Case Studies, 2nd ed.
Schwarz, Daniel R., ed. The Dead. By James Joyce. Bedford Case Studies.
Wofford, Susanne L., ed. Hamlet. By William Shakespeare. Bedford Case Studies.
Smith, Johanna M., ed. Frankenstein. By Mary Shelley. Bedford Case Studies, 2nd ed.
Course Requirements:
Class Participation: Group discussion will constitute an important part of the class dynamic, and you are expected to contribute to that dynamic. Please keep up to date with the readings and come to class having already read and considered the material to be covered on that day. The instructor reserves the right to call on students for opinion or comment at any time during class. Those who volunteer their informed comments, interpretations, and opinions, while remaining respectful of the rights of others to differ with them, will be rewarded with a strong participation mark. Consistent attendance is also an important factor in determining participation grades. Please see the Attendance Policy below.
Response Papers (2): Each of these papers will comprise a well-written, reasoned response to a specific critical methodology studied in the course. Please note that there are two deadlines for each of these papers, and two choices of critical methodologies for each of these deadlines. Students are responsible for handing in their papers on one of these deadlines and for selecting a methodology for analysis which corresponds with that particular deadline. Papers will be evaluated on the basis of clarity and economy of presentation (3-4 pages in length), as well as the writer’s ability to stake out a persuasive critical stance on the issue at hand. These essays should be carefully considered, personal responses to the prescribed course texts, rather than research papers. As with any submission of written work, you are responsible for compliance with the University’s Policy on Academic Honesty (Section 409). Please note that all assignments are due at the beginning of class for that day, and late papers will not be accepted without written proof of emergency. More detail about the requirements for these papers will be provided shortly.
In-Class Presentation: In this presentation, you must demonstrate your knowledge of a given theoretical methodology by comparing two essays which employ that methodology in their readings of a course text. Specifically, you will be responsible for comparing and contrasting a required critical reading from the Bedford Case Studies text to another essay suggested in the Bedford bibliography for that critical theory. Your assignment will therefore demand that you locate and read one (or more) critical articles not included in the course syllabus, and compare that article to the required reading in terms of what it does and does not tell us about Hamlet, “The Dead,” etc. Presentations will be approximately 10 minutes in length (not including discussion), and must be accompanied by a brief hand-out to the class and a written summary to the instructor. You will be evaluated on the basis of your understanding of the critical methodology in question, the analytical detail of your comparison, and the clarity of your presentation. A sign-up sheet for the date and topic of this presentation will be made available by the instructor early in the course.
Final Essay: The final paper for the course will consist of a detailed application of one critical methodology to a literary text of your choice. Outside research is not required, although you are free to use secondary sources as long as they are duly noted in proper bibliographic form. Essays will be 6-8 pages in length, and topics must be approved by the instructor. To that end, a 1 paragraph proposal for the final essay must be submitted on April 6.
Evaluation:
Class Participation: 10%
Response Paper #1: 15%
Response Paper #2: 15%
In-Class Presentation: 30%
Final Essay: 30%
Attendance Policy & Class Etiquette: Attendance in class is mandatory. Students who miss more than 3 classes without valid excuse will have their final grade lowered by one full letter (A to B, B to C, etc.). Students who miss 6 classes will not pass the course. No food is allowed in class, though you may bring beverages that can be consumed inconspicuously (i.e. no slurping straws, crunching cans, etc.). You are expected to be in class on time and to stay for the entire duration.
Attention all English Majors: As part of your graduation requirement, you will be asked to submit, during your senior year, a portfolio of your work as an English major. You should collect several assignments each term to prepare your portfolio. To find the specific requirements for your concentration, contact the main office of the Department of English. Please feel free to ask one of your instructors or your advisor for advice about your portfolio.
N.B.: The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS:
Week One: Introduction, Overview, Bressler, ch. 1: “Defining Criticism, Theory, and Literature”, O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (hand-out)
Week Two: Bressler, ch. 2: “A Historical Survey of Literary Criticism”, Bressler, ch. 3: “New Criticism”
Week Three: Poe, “The City in the Sea” (Bressler 233-35), Harrison, “Marked with D.” (Bressler 248), Additional poems for analysis (hand-out), First Deadline for Response Paper #1 (on New Critical analysis of poetry)
Week Four: Bressler, ch. 7: “Psychoanalytic Criticism”, Bressler, ch. 11: “Cultural Poetics”, Hawthorne, “The Maypole of Merry Mount” (Bressler 248-56)
Week Five: Shakespeare, Hamlet
Week Six: Psychoanalytic & New Historicist Perspectives on Hamlet, Student Presentations: Adelman, “’Man and Wife is One Flesh’” (Wofford 256-82), Coddon, “’Suche Strange Desygns’” (Wofford 380-402), Second Deadline for Response Paper #1 (on Psychoanalytic or New Historicist readings of Hamlet)
Week Seven: Bressler, ch. 9: “Marxism”, Smith, “What is Cultural Criticism?” (Smith 396-415), Screening: scenes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (dir. Branagh) & The Terminator (dir. Cameron)
Week Eight: Shelley, Frankenstein
SPRING BREAK; NO CLASS
Week Nine: Marxist & Cultural Perspectives on Frankenstein, Student Presentations: Montag, “The ‘Workshop of Filthy Creation’” (Smith 384-95), Zakharieva, “Frankenstein of the Nineties” (Smith 416-31), First Deadline for Response Paper #2 (on Marxist or Cultural readings of Frankenstein)
Week Ten: Bressler, ch. 6: “Deconstruction”, Cisneros, “The House on Mango Street” (Bressler 232-33) Bressler, ch. 8: “Feminism”, Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” (Bressler 235-47)
Week Eleven: Joyce, “The Dead”
Feminist & Deconstructionist Perspectives on “The Dead”, Student Presentations:Norris, “Not the Girl She Was at All” (Schwarz 190-205), Second Deadline for Response Paper #2 (on Feminist or Deconstructive readings of “The Dead”)
Week Twelve:
Student Presentations cont’d: Riquelme, “For Whom the Snow Taps” (Schwarz 219-33), Bressler, ch. 4: “Reader-Response Criticism”, Deadline for Final Essay proposal
Week Thirteen: “What is Gender Criticism?” (Beidler 290-301), James, The Turn of the Screw
Week Fourteen: The Turn of the Screw cont’d, Reader-Response & Gender Studies Perspectives on Turn of the Screw
Student Presentations:
Booth, “He began to read to our hushed little circle” (Beidler 239-53)
Week Fifteen: Student Presentations cont’d: Walton, “He took no notice of her” (Beidler 305-16), Conclusions, Review
Deadline for Final Essay