EL4011: Literary Criticism I
Professor Amie Parry
Fall 2010

Time: Thursday 9:00-11:50
Place: C2 114
Office A218; hours: Wed. 2-3pm and Thurs. 2-4pm; phone: x33215
amie.parry@gmail.com

Course Description:

This course is recommended for advanced students who are interested in going on to study in literature, cultural studies or related fields at the graduate level. The course, along with LCII, introduces some of the basic texts of literary and cultural criticism.  During the first semester we will focus on the question of the content of literature and its moral, social and political readings; the second semester will explore the question of form and the development of formalisms and structuralisms. In other words, the course is loosely divided thematically instead of historically, in order to explore in depth the ideas that have developed out of the ongoing debate concerning content vs. form, or politics vs. art, which threads through the Western canon of literary criticism. This division is not an absolute one, and students are advised to take the course both semesters in order to get a more complete picture of the development of the field.  Both semesters will move from early texts into the contemporary field, tracing different arguments within the canon. This semester, we will also discuss the influence of Plato and Neo-Platonism on two contemporary popular films, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, both of which explore complex questions of ethics, representation, epistemology and subjectivity.

In the first semester, we trace philosophical and literary thinking about the meaning, value and social implications of cultural representation from classical times into the modern era. As we do so the initial focus on morality and authenticity will develop into discussions of rights and modernity. Figures and schools we will cover include, Plato and Neo-Platonism; Enlightenment theories of knowledge and rights; Marx and Marxism; and the Victorian concept of culture at the peak of British imperialism. Finally, we will look at how these developments gave rise to contemporary literary theory following the social movements of the 20th century. To this end, we will study contemporary Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial readings of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), a novel that responds to the ethical dilemmas of its time by narrating the pinnacle of Western society and its humanist thought partly through the eyes of the monster that it created.

Requirements:

Students will be expected to carefully read substantial weekly assignments in difficult English—sometimes in small, anthology-size print. There will be quizzes at the beginning of each class period on that week’s readings, and a final essay. The quizzes will test for careful and thorough preparation of assigned materials. After the quizzes, class meetings will consist of brief lectures and discussions in groups: active and engaged participation is required.

Important:

Students should finish the novel Frankenstein before class begins.

Grading Policy:

Weekly Quizzes: 40%
Final essay: 40%
Participation: 20%

Textbooks:

1. Course Reader, available at Gaoguan; students should purchase it before class begins.
2. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. Available at bookstores everywhere; students should read it before class begins. The novel is divided into three parts or volumes: Volume II must be read in English, while Volumes I and III can be read either in English or in Chinese translation. (Recommended: Norton Critical Edition of Frankenstein, for the footnotes on language and historical references, and because some other editions are based on a later version of the novel.)
3. Handouts, provided by instructor in class as needed.

Reader abbreviations and order of texts:
1. LT: Literary Theory
2. NA: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
3. HLC: A History of Literary Criticism
4. IP: Introducing Philosophy
5. Partridge, “Plato’s Cave and The Matrix”
6. Shippey, from “The Lord of the Rings (2): Concepts of Evil”
7. Morgan, “Frankenstein’s Singular Events”
8. Moretti, Franco. “Dialectic of Fear”
9. Woolf, Virginia, A Room of One's Own, Chapter 2
10. Johnson, "My Monster, My Self"
11. Spivak, "[Frankenstein and a Critique of Imperialism]"
12. Rieder, "Artificial Humans and the Construction of Race"

Schedule of classes: