|
English 456: C20 Criticism and Theory Course Policies Al Drake | Cyber Cafe | Thurs. 4-6 Course Plan: Rather than try to do exactly what your previous instructor might have done, I will re-shape the course to suit my own interests and knowledge. That way, I need not spend scarce preparation time trying to adapt to the previous syllabus. I mean to include brief selections by authors such as Kant, Marx, Arnold, Nietzsche, and Freud among our readings because they provide vital perspective on later developments in literary criticism and theory. Statement on Methods: One must perform the Carlylean task of "reducing to order" the sheer diffuseness of contemporary theory. One good way to do that is to provide, by means of a small number of key predecessor texts, historical perspective on major insights that run through today's criticism and theory. Another good way is to start with the scheme that Hazard Adams adapted from historian of literature and criticism Meyer H. Abrams. As Adams writes at the beginning of Critical Theory Since Plato, "Modern analysts of criticism often classify critical theories according to their critical orientation, that is, according to where the critic ‘locates' the literary work, or poem—in the nature it copies, in the audience it finds, in the author, or in its own verbal structure. . . . Abrams calls these four basic critical orientations the mimetic, the pragmatic . . . the expressive, and the objective." Even the most difficult theorist usually fits within, spans, or criticizes these basic orientations, so they provide invaluable points of reference. Required Materials: Davis, Robert Con and Ronald Schleifer, eds. Contemporary Literary Criticism: Literary and Cultural Studies. 4th edition. New York: Longman, 1998. English 456 Packets on 2-hour reserve at the library. Two copies of the first packet are now on reserve; the second will become available when needed. These folders contain readings from Hazard Adams' Critical Theory Since Plato (New York: Harcourt, 1992) and from other sources. Tell the librarian that you need "English 456 Packet #1" and provide them with my name, Alfred Drake. Study Questions: I will try to provide study questions for each of our authors in advance of class. That is my usual practice, but since I am starting late, it will take me a little time to get up to speed on this task. Prompt for the Term Paper: Write a 5-7 page essay that discusses the two critical studies you find most significant among those you have read concerning a literary work of your choice. In the course of your paper, be sure to explain to your reader each critic's basic orientation and methods, and identify what each critic's analysis clarifies especially well (or, alternately, what it fails to clarify especially badly) concerning the literary work in question. Why does the approach taken seem especially appropriate or inappropriate? Instructions for Annotated Bibliography Component of Term Paper: Attach at the end of your essay a separate section called "Annotated Bibliography." (It should come after your paper and your "Works Cited" page.) There should be at least 6 entries to show that you have read six or more articles on your chosen literary work. List each article in proper MLA style, summarize the contents, and briefly set forth the article's strengths and weaknesses as you see them. Here is an Annotated Bibliography Sample for the Term Paper. Advice on Writing the Paper: Choose a relatively short literary work that you understand well, but that you would like to understand even better. It is possible to choose a critic with whom you strongly disagree, but don't make that your basis for choosing both critics—the paper will become merely negative rather than constructive. Also, remember that in general, to agree slavishly or dismiss out of hand the work of another is equally dismissive and doesn't make for good reading. Pick critics whose ideas you at least think are worth exploring! Do not take the order of the prompt's sentences as the only possible sequence in which to accomplish the necessary tasks in your paper: work out an essay structure that makes sense to you. Be a careful editor for clarity both in terms of your grammar/style and your logical structure. As the poet Paul Celan wrote, "Attention to detail is the natural prayer of the soul." Finally, and strongly, I suggest that you choose two different critical approaches to allow for variety of interpretation. Your paper will probably be a lot less interesting to your reader (okay—your grade-wielding instructor) if it lacks this kind of variety. Advice on the Annotated Bibliography: The point is to provide readers with an evaluative snapshot of scholarly articles—one that will help readers determine whether the argument in question is relevant to their interests and whether it is good enough to be worth reading. (Or perhaps instructively wrong-headed enough to be worth reading—after all, some interpretations one disagrees with may be strong in their own fashion; they may set forth a particular point of view coherently and therefore deserve notice.) And of course, when you're stating your own point of view, your annotated bibliography helps readers get a sense of how well you've "done your homework" in arriving at your own approach to a given text. Links to Other Resources Voice of the Shuttle Literary Theory Links Page. This page contains links to helpful information on criticism and theory. Try the home page for other information on literature of various genres, periods, and regions. If you visit only one site for links and information, this is among the best the net offers. The Johns Hopkins Online Guide to Literary Theory. An excellent guide. Prof. Alan Sokal's Web Site. Contains fun stuff pertaining to "Sokal's Hoax." Sokal, a physics professor at New York U, wrote a meticulously documented and thoroughly bogus paper arguing as follows: now that we have dispensed with scientific nonsense about there being an objective physical world, it's time to start emphasizing exciting new developments in physics that, together with postmodern theory, promise a new era of radical progressivism. Sokal doesn't believe a word of it, but the editors of a prominent cultural studies journal do. Teachers' Resource Web (I set up this web for UC Irvine--lots of handouts and study questions by different teachers. It also contains links to similar sites.)
|