2:30p-3:45p TR (25) 3 cr.
COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION. OPEN TO MAJORS ONLY. DECLARED MINORS
OBTAIN AUTHORIZATION
FROM BH442.
We are convening to explore the idea of literary interpretation. The
practice is
fundamental to literary criticism and encompasses two fundamental
practices: reading and
writing. We will read a number of texts this semester, each of which
deals with the act of
creating meaning from experience. This involves a series of different
paradigms for
constructing and deconstructing narrative structures. We will find
that literary
interpretation is not limited to what is on the page, but that this
act deploys a number of
strategies, as well as fields of inquiry and experience. It is a
subjective practice, but
one which strives to create an objective result: deeper, clearer
understanding. We will
begin by examining the crisis of meaning in the twentieth century and
the way in which the
uncertainty of modernity has affected the way in which we strive to
understand ourselves via
our literature. We will start by asking the question "what is a
text?" and answering by
looking to the New Critics, structuralists, poststructuralists, and
socio-cultural critics
for examples of reading practices.
This is fundamentally a course in translation: how do we make sense
of what we read and
then transfer that understanding to others. How can we become better
and more precise
readers. How do we begin to participate within the field of literary
criticism? It will be
a process which seeks to transform each of you into a critical reader
and perspicacious
writer.