ELL 641 - Literary Theory and Criticism from the Greeks to Saussure

The course aims to study and determine the quality of literature and literary theory in their ability to convey the traditional literary values of form, meaning, and symbolism, and the applicable value of literary theory as an interpretive mode of criticism that probes how we read, make sense of experience, and produce meaning.

In the process, the course seeks the heightened appreciation of literary texts and theories, their intellectual, moral, and aesthetic features, the relationships amongs stylistic devices, central motifs, organic structure, and effectiveness in revealing and communicating the author's and reader's purpose and motivation and imagination and psychology.

In our case, the theory we will be studying will be about literature and the study of literature. We will be looking at the ways thinkers through the ages have tried to define and understand the nature and value of literature. We will begin at the beginning (sort of) with Plato’s famous quarrel with the poets. This, I hope, will help us see why literature has posed such a problem to thinkers for such a long time. For one thing, literature is, or seems to be, neither fish nor fowl. It is not an account of life that purports to be strictly true—it is, after all, entirely made up—and yet it seems to convey something like the truth. It is made up of the same kind of language we use in our everyday transactions (it is not made up of a specialized language, like mathematics), and yet that language seems so much richer and deeper in a literary work. Literature does not claim to be a sacred utterance, and yet it treats the most important subjects human have to deal with. Kant, who otherwise thought that human mental life could be classified as either pure reason or practical reason, had to posit a third, hybrid category to account for literature. So, Plato can be forgiven for raising some questions about this renegade thing. After Plato, we will look at how subsequent thinkers have tried to explain, defend, and justify literature in light of its strange nature. Most of the class will be a kind of historical survey of these attempts and will end with an overview of contemporary theory and criticism. What is the nature, function, and value of literature? How can we deal objectively with literary art? How can readers gain greater access to the richness and complexity of literary texts? What criteria do we use to determine a work’s “greatness”? What do we mean when we speak of the “beauty” of a literary work? What is the function of the artist, the critic, and of criticism and theory itself? Can we know the artist’s true intentions in a work? How do we account for multiple interpretations of a text? What is the relationship between the content and the form of a literary work? Does literary language differ from ordinary language? Readings were drawn from the Classical period to the beginning of the 20th century.

Leitch and others, eds. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York and London: Norton and Co., 2001.
 

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Garland Publishing, 1999. • Bressler, Charles E., Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice • Brooker, Peter, Modernism and Postmodernism • Castle, Gregory, The Blackwell Guide to Literary Theory • Coombes, H., Literature and Criticism • Eagleton, Terry, Literary Theory: An Introduction • Habib, M. A. R., A History of Literary Criticism and Theory • Lodge, David, ed., Modern Criticism and Theory, 2nd ed. • Lois, Tyson, Critical Theory Today, 2nd ed. • Register, Cheri Register, ‘Literary Criticism’, Signs, Vol. 6, No. 2, Studies in Change (Winter, 1980), pp. 268-282. • Natoli, Joseph and Linda Hutcheon, eds., A Postmodern Reader • Rice, Philip and Patricia Waugh, eds., Modern Literary Theory: A Reader • Selden, Raman, Peter Widdowson and Peter Brooker, A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory, 4th ed. • White, Hayden, ‘Literary History: The Point Of It All’, New Literary History, Vol. 2, No. 1, A Symposium on Literary History (Autumn, 1970), pp. 173-185.

Students are expected not only to come to classes regularly and on time with their necessary materials, but also to read beforehand the relevant texts, since this course will be partly in a form of classroom discussions. The classroom language is English, and the use of any other languages shall not be allowed. No assigned works such as class activity, homework, term work and so on will be accepted after the stated deadline.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of stealing somebody’s work or idea and then of trying to pass it off as original. This is an offence and crime requiring the punishment not only across the world but also at IZU. If the student takes or summarizes someone’s written works or ideas, s/he must give the full citation in her/his assignment.     

Attendance policy:

Absence from lectures and tutorials shall not exceed 30%. Students who exceed the limits without a medical or emergency excuse acceptable to and approved by the Dean shall not be allowed to take the final examination and shall fail the course.