Art
& Culture Theory
Shuttle Purdue
Guide
Art
& Culture Theory
Shuttle Purdue
Guide
Dr. Rachela Permenter 312C Spotts World Culture Bldg., 724-738-2358, Office Hours: M 7:30-8pm, W 1-3, TTH 2:30-3:45
Spring 2002, Slippery Rock University Internet Public Library - Lit Crit theory.org Crasis-theory
Schedule (Aug.-Oct. 14) Schedule (Oct. 14-end) Requirements Basis for Grades See Course Questions
Texts: The Norton
Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Vincent B. Leitch, ed. W.W. Norton, 2001
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Garland,
1999.
Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford,
2000.
Dillard, Annie. Living by Fiction. HarperPerennial, 1988.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby
Page numbers refer to The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism..
The following schedule may be modified as the course proceeds:
Aug. 26 Introduction to course Selden, Intro; Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author"; Gerald Graff, "What Has Literary Theory Wrought?" (handouts)
Sept. 2 Labor Day – No Class (Begin reading Gatsby) Week’s Readings: Tyson, Chaps. 1 and 12; Culler, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Notes/Response Due: Tuesday, Sept. 4th in professor’s mailbox or by e-mail
Sept. 9 Norton: Alternative Tables of Contents & Intro (vii-28); Annie Dillard, Living, Intro & Chaps. 1-6, 8-9, & 11 are required (7 & 10 are optional)
Sept. 16 Classical/Medieval/Renaissance Theorists: Representation and Realism Plato, Republic, Book X, 33-37; 67-80; Aristotle, "Poetics" excerpt (Section 4, p. 93 only), 86-89, 93; Augustine, from On Christian Doctrine, 185-91; Sidney, "An Apology for Poetry" excerpts, 323-25, 330-34, 362
Sept.
23 Enlightenment/Romantic/Victorian Theorists: Aesthetics Keats,
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" (handout); Excerpts from Norton:
Kant, Critique of Judgment, 499-503, 534-35 (Sec. 59); Pater, Studies
in the History of the Renaissance ("Philosophiren" to end) 834,
840-41; Wordsworth, "Preface to Lyrical Ballads," last
paragraph on 661-62 (from "I have said"); Coleridge, Chap. 13, Biographia
Literaria, 676-77; Emerson, "The Poet," 717-21 and 735-39
Romantic/Victorian Theorists: The Tradition/Canon/Purpose Shelley, "A Defence of Poetry," 699-704 and last sentence on 717; Arnold, "The Function of Criticism," 824 ("But stop . . ." to end)
Sept. 30 Formalism, New Criticism – Tyson, Chap. 5 Eliot, "Tradition . . .," 1088-91, 1093-95 ("In a peculiar sense" to end of Part I, and 1097-98 ("It is not" to end)); Wimsatt & Beardsley, "The Intentional Fallacy," 1374-87; Eichenbaum, From "The Theory of the `Formal Method,’"1058-65, 1080-87. (Finish reading Gatsby)
Oct. 7 Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Reader-Response, Psychoanalysis – Tyson, Chaps. 2 & 6 Heidegger, Bio/intro only, 1118-20; Iser, "Interaction Between Text and Reader," 1670-82; Jauss, from Literary History as a Challenge, 1547-64
Oct. 14 Structuralism, Semiotics – Tyson, Chap. 7 de Saussure, from Course in General Linguistics, 956-77; Scholes, "Decoding Papa" (handout); Jakobson, Bio/intro only, 1254-57, Levi-Strauss, Bio/intro only, 1415-18
DUE: Take-home Exam #1
Oct. 21 Deconstruction, Poststructuralism – Tyson, Chap. 8 Derrida, from Of Grammatology, 1815-32 (to end of 2nd para. from Dissemination, "Plato’s Pharmacy"); Barthes, from Mythologies, 1457-65 (and take another look at "Death of the Author," 1466-70); Baudrillard, from Simulacra and Simulation, 1729-41
Oct. 28 Marxism, Cultural Studies – Tyson, Chap. 3 Gramsci, "The Formation of the Intellectuals," 1135-43; Jameson, "Postmodernism and Consumer Society," 1960-74; Hall, "Cultural Studies and Its Theoretical Legacies," 1898-1910
Nov. 4 New Historicism – Tyson, Chap. 9 White, "The Historical Text as Literary Artifact," 1709-29; Greenblatt, Bio/intro only, 2250-51
CRITICAL PAPERS DUE – NOV. 7, 4:30 pm in professor’s mailbox or e-mail attachment
Nov. 11 Feminist, Gay, Queer Theories – Tyson, Chaps. 4 & 10 Woolf, "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Androgyny" (from A Room of One's Own), 1017-29; Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa," 2035-56; Gilbert & Gubar, from Madwoman in the Attic, 2021-35; Judith Butler, from Gender Trouble, 2485-2501
Nov. 18 Postcolonialism – Tyson, Chap. 11 Foucault, Bio/intro only, 1615-21; Said, from Orientalism, 1986-2012, Achebe, "An Image of Africa," 1781-94; Fanon, from The Wretched of the Earth, 1575-93
Nov. 25 Postcolonialism, Race & Ethnicity Theories Anzaldua, from Borderlands/La Frontera, 2208-23; Allen, "Kochinnenako in Academe," 2106-26; Gates, "Talking Black: Critical Signs of the Times," 2421-32; hooks, "Postmodern Blackness," 2475-84 Thanksgiving Break – Nov. 27, 5 pm - Dec. 1, 8 am
Dec. 2 Wrap-up discussion;
Revised Paper Option (1st semester grad. students);
presentation of critical papers Dec. 9 (Final Examination
Week) DUE: Exam #2 and presentation of critical papers. Class will meet for the full examination time 
2. Ten Weekly Quizzes (Sept. 9 - Nov. 25, excluding Oct. 14 & Nov. 4 when only Responses are required and may be turned in late). 20-minutes, open-book, open-notes. You will be given two "Get Out of Jail Free" cards at the beginning of the semester and can use them to sit out any quiz you wish, also allowing you to turn in your Notes/Response to the readings late (no later than the next class). Students who do not use one or both of their cards will write one or two fewer essays on Exam #2. These quizzes are free-writes for your take-home essays.
3. Thirteen Weekly Reading Notes with Reader Responses*. Divide a 2-4 pp. double-spaced written piece into two sections: Notes and Response. MLA format. Five of the semester’s responses must be photocopied for all students on the night the readings are discussed. These notes and responses are informal (but mechanically pristine) freewrites for your take-home essays. Due before class each week. Keep one copy for your own reference during class. (*Reading Notes are compilations of carefully selected bits of information from your reading, highlighting important concepts and information in a way to help you move it to your long-term memory. Reader Responses are your analytical responses to theorists’ contentions about literature and meaning, noted immediately after your first reading (may be wild and ranting freewriting, but may not be "I didn’t like this piece; it was boring/ poorly written/ too hard . . .," etc. Try considering each reading as an answer to one or more of the Course Questions.)
4. Participation in a group of presenters/discussion leaders for one class (one-half hour — do not go over time allotment). Presentation will be on the topic of the class as listed on syllabus (Sept. 30 - Nov. 25). Handouts with bibliographies are required. This is not reporting what a theory dictionary has summarized. The group will agree on a reading list for group members and each member will have read a full-length theoretical text or several articles in depth.5. Two take-home exams (1 essay and 3 short essays each, computer printed, MLA format, 5-7 pp. each exam). Expansions of quizzes, reading notes, and responses. Questions for each exam will be forms of the Course Questions, Parts II-V, and will require specific references to the readings. Presentation groups will submit at least one short essay question for the appropriate exam.
6. Critical Paper. 12-15 pp. Computer printed. Strict MLA format. Research one or two critical issues, approaches, theories, theorists, or critics. Formulate a focused argument. You may expand any of your essay answers from your take-home exams.
OR
Write a critical paper on any literary work(s). Reflect a clear understanding of your theoretical approach or opinions. Refer to the views of other critics of the work(s) and make evident how your argument fits into the critical dialogue. Although you may re-work a short paper or presentation from another course, using one project to fulfill requirements for two courses is not acceptable.
You will present your findings to the class informally (15 minutes, not simply reading your paper).
Basis for Grades - English 603, Literary Criticism
A:
B:
C:
D & F
: Less than "C" requirements met.Absence 100% class attendance is a course requirement.
Late Work For each week_day a written assignment is late, half of a letter grade will be deducted.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you submit any work which is not the product of your own study and efforts, you will receive a grade of "F" for that work and probably for the course. Serious offenses will be reported.
Conferences You are encouraged to seek individual discussion with the professor during regular office hours, after class, and by appointment. It his highly recommended that you meet with the professor to discuss your paper and research.
See Course Questions
Comments to: Rachela Permenter
Last Updated: Aug. 2002
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Fall 2002, Slippery Rock University
