Spring 2008 Course Offerings:
English 308: Interpretation of Literature, MWF 10am
What is the difference between reading literature for fun and reading it as a literary critic?
What do literary critics and scholars do and what are the major ideas and theories they use?
This course will help you to answer these questions and to become an active literary critic yourself. You will further develop skills such as close reading, literary analysis, and research on literary topics. You will learn how to respond to critical articles and how to identify the assumptions behind literary arguments and theories. We will also focus on the relationship between literature and historical background, looking at the ways literary texts function in history. We will read selected theoretical texts as well as literary texts, noticing how theories are applied to the practical business of reading literature. You’ll also learn how to apply your literary skills to non-literary texts. You will write several short papers and exercises, one-two 4-6 page papers, and a longer research paper. Required texts include: Lentricchia and McLaughlin, Critical Terms for Literary Study; Eagleton, How to Read a Poem; Cuddon, The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory; Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”; Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (Bedford-St. Martin’s Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism); Dickens, Great Expectations (Bedford-St. Martin’s Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism); Brontë, Jane Eyre. Strongly recommended: Lunsford, The Everyday Writer, and English Department, CAL.