ENGL 376 - Modern Literary Theory

Institution:

University of Richmond

Subject:

Description:

Developments in literary theory from Formalism to the present. Schools and approaches include New Criticism, Feminism, Marxism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalytic Criticism, New Historicism, and Cultural Studies. Prerequisite(s): One unit of 300-level English with a grade of C or better. Unit(s): 1 Additional Information: The emergence of literary studies as a discipline with its own methodologies and theoretical underpinnings is a relatively recent development, with beginnings in the early twentieth century. After a brief overview of ancient conceptions of literature, we turn to the study of Russian Formalism and American New Criticism, which set about putting literary studies on an equally rigorous foundation with scientific disciplines of the day. We then survey a range of approaches to the study of literature that followed from mid-century on, most of which had origins in other disciplines. These schools or critical theories include Feminism and Marxism, Structuralism (influenced by linguistics and anthropology), Reader-Response criticism (from German philosophy) Deconstruction (from French philosophy), Psychoanalysis (from Freud and other psychologists), and New Historicism and Postcolonial criticism (both blending Marxism and post-structuralism). This is a course that emphasizes the analysis of theoretical texts (many of which are quite difficult) more than practical, applied criticism, though we spend time both reading and writing criticism of literary texts as well.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.richmond.edu

Phone Number:

(804) 289-8000

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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