Martini Paula, Rodrigo
MWF 9:10 AM
Park Hall 0139
ENGL 4820 Literary Theory
This course will offer an introduction to literary theory through recent concerns affecting literary studies today. In particular, we will look at how literary theory has addressed:
-environmental decay, our relationship with other animals, and the prevalence of ecological thought in our daily lives;
- the burgeoning media ecology of the 21st century, with its implications to how we view our identity in gendered, racialized, and national terms.
Instead of offering a large overview of the history of literary criticism, this course will focus on the methods of theoretical study. How can we begin to read dense texts? How can we make such difficult ideas relevant to how we think critically about our world today? Hopefully, after this course, you will be able to navigate the sprawling field of critical theory on your own.
The first part of the semester will focus on learning methods for reading criticism, identifying key terms, and performing research. We will find ways to enter the centuries-old conversation and learn techniques for reading and understanding these seemingly convoluted texts.
In the second part of the semester, we will read a few texts that have become central to theoretical debates today: from Heidegger to Jacques Derrida, from Michel Foucault to Donna Haraway. These texts will give students a glimpse into just how wide-ranging and interdisciplinary theory can be.
Finally, we will read some relevant texts published in the last ten years, which represent the state of criticism today. These texts will be on the fields of environmental humanities and new media studies.