2021-2022 Academic Catalog

Apr 28, 2024

2021-2022 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 199 - The Text, the World, and the Critic

What compels us to read, especially particular texts? This is among the key questions we explore in this course, which introduces the core skills and concepts necessary for the study of literary criticism. Reading a diverse and inclusive range of texts through various theoretical lenses, we will practice close reading of primary texts; comprehension and application of theoretical lenses to primary texts; persuasive argumentation; strategic review of scholarship; and incorporation of relevant theory, scholarship, and other critical approaches into a seminar paper. Our reading will also provide us with an essential literary framework through which to engage with our literary studies. Through our exploration of both traditional and nontraditional texts, the course will examine issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class through power, intersectionality, and identity. While developing fundamental skills of literary criticism and a literary framework, this course will also engage in questions central to the discipline. How and why do texts become canonical, or seen as worthy of literary importance, and how do systems of power affect canon formation? How does the discipline not only enact oppressions, but also effect transformation in allowing us to imagine different points of views or worlds? This course will develop questions and skills to pursue critical analysis not only of literary works but also a number of modes of expression, from popular culture to political discourse. This course is strongly recommended for students who have recently declared a major in English, or who are planning to declare an English major in their sophomore year. The course is required for all English majors and fulfills the A requirement. For WGS majors, can count as the Methods course.

Prerequisites: VE placement or IDND 018 and a decision to delcare a major in English.

Course Designation/Attribute: VE, DI

Anticipated Terms Offered: Every spring semester.