Gregory EiseleinGregory Eiselein
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Eisenhower Hall 219 | Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:30 | Spring 2006
Literary Criticism is a survey of Western literary theory and criticism with an emphasis on the most prominent theorists, texts, schools, and ideas. It is a course in the history of ideas—specifically, ideas related to the theory and criticism of literary texts.
The course begins with a survey of major figures in the development of a critical theory of literature. The emphasis will be on the careful reading of primary theoretical texts, with attention as well to the historical and social contexts. This survey will include Plato, Aristotle, Longinus, Augustine, Maimonides, Sidney, Corneille, Vico, Kant, Coleridge, Emerson, Pater, Arnold, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche. This survey should provide a basic frame of reference from which to understand and assess the contemporary theoretical and critical scene.
The second half of the course covers developments in the twentieth century, including feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, formalism, structuralism and deconstruction, phenomenology and reader-response theory, queer theory, postcolonialism, and postmodernism.
Requirements: a midterm and final examination, four short papers (4-7 pages), some short and informal writing assignments, active participation and class attendance.
Required Text: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, ed. Vincent B. Leitch.
Recommended Text: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, 2nd edition, ed. Ross Murfin and Supryia M. Ray.
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