02:30P-03:45P TR (30) 3 cr.
PREREQUISITE:L202 with grade of C- or better. NOTE: The English Department will strictly enforce this prerequisite. Students who have not completed L202 with a grade of C- or better will have their registration administratively cancelled.
This course will introduce students to several different methods of literary interpretation that allow for different, and at times competing, evaluations and understandings. Such methods include formalist analysis, various types of historicism, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction. It is my hope that learning about and practicing these methods will help students to read not only literary texts but the world of which they are a part in new and rewarding ways. Texts will include a general introduction to literary theory and several primary texts such as Shakespeare’s The Tempest, poetry by Whitman, short stories by Poe, and Nella Larsen’s Passing. We will also read recent essays on these primary texts as models of different strategies of interpretation. Students will probably be expected to write two papers of 5-7 pages, help with one group presentation, and take two exams.