L202 1903 YOW
Literary Interpretation

11:15a-12:05a MWF (25) 3 cr.

COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION. OPEN TO MAJORS ONLY. DECLARED MINORS OBTAIN AUTHORIZATION FROM BH442.

Have you practiced so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?
--Walt Whitman

In this course, we will learn to read in a more active and critical manner by engaging in the close textual analysis of a variety of literary genres. We will also be introduced to a number of contemporary debates about the nature and practice of literary interpretation. In our discussions of the "meaning of poems" and other literary texts, emphasis will be placed on the effect of literary strategies, historical context, and the role of the critic in the production of "meaning." A series of short (5-6 page) essays will permit students to hone their skills of analysis and argumentation.

Texts will include, among others: Octavia Butler, Kindred, Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; Henry James, The Turn of the Screw; Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and a variety of poetic works.