ENGLISH 393 - Literary Theory

Institution:

Reed College

Subject:

Description:

Theory and the Ethics of Reading Full course for one semester. Since Aristotle, literary criticism has always had an ethical dimension, even if not always foregrounded. This course will examine several approaches to understanding the relationship between literature and ethical analysis. Among the theorists to be considered will be Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller, Paul de Man, and Jacques Derrida. We will test theory against some works of literature, among them Shakespeare's Coriolanus, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Prerequisite: two English courses at the 200 level, or consent of the instructor. Conference. Not offered 2009-10. Problems in Contemporary Narrative Theory Full course for one semester. This course introduces students to problems and debates in narrative theory. We will focus on three current areas of research: theories of character, the analysis of narration (e.g. represented thought), and the contextualist dimensions of literary style. Each week will pair one or more classic paper in narrative theory (e.g. Propp on the folk-tale, Genette on focalization, Bakhtin on heteroglossia) with a more recent approach to the problem it confronts. Readings may include Marxist, feminist, and post-colonial approaches to narrative; we will also consider what interdisciplinary studies, such as those drawing on cognitive science and the sociology of literature, offer for theories of the novel. To test these theories, we will employ a common set of novels, drawn from various periods and national traditions, which we will read concurrently throughout the semester: Lewis's The Monk, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Machado de Assis' The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cuba/s, and selected chapters from Ulysses. Prerequisite: two English courses at the 200 level, or consent of the instructor. Conference. A History of Rhetoric and Literary Theory Full course for one semester. This course consists of an examination of classical rhetoric ("the art of persuasion") and the ways in which rhetorical systems promulgated theories about the functions of memory, imagination, and language in relation to the composition and reception of literary texts of all genres. Part of the goal is to arrive at sophisticated and historically informed definitions of concepts such as mimesis, copia, and the sublime. Attention will also be paid to the theories and functions of literary tropes, particularly metaphor, metonymy, irony, and allegory. Theoretical texts will be read in conjunction with literary texts, enabling the student to use them and critique various theories in his/her own strategies for close reading. The theoretical texts are taken from Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, Longinus, Erasmus, Thomas Wilson, St. Ignatius Loyola, Burke, Kant, Freud, and Lacan. The literary texts include Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex," Shakespeare's sonnets, and James Joyce's Dubliners. Prerequisite: two 200-level English courses or consent of the instructor. This course satisfies the pre-17th C requirement. Conference.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.reed.edu

Phone Number:

(503) 771-1112

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Semester

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