SYLLABUS

 

Approaches to the Study of Literature

 

English 303W.01, TTh 11:00-12:15, 222 McIver

English 303W.02, TTh 12:30-1:45, 322 McIver

 

     Instructor:                Professor Stephen R. Yarbrough

          Office:                121 McIver

Office Hours:                TTh 10-11am, 2-3pm

Office Phone:                334-5650

Home Phone:                292-1186

           Email:                sryarbro@uncg.edu

 

Required Text:

 

Keesey, Donald.  Contexts for Criticism.  3rd ed.  Mayfield Publishing, 1998.

 

“Student Learning Goals”:

 

(I am required by the SACS bureaucracy to post on this syllabus the following “student learning goals.”  They are, of course, utterly misleading and pedagogically worthless.)

 

“At the completion of this course, the student will be able to

§         Demonstrate the ability to write clearly, coherently, and effectively about a particular discipline.

§         Adapt modes of communication to the audience.

§         Incorporate constructive feedback from readers to improve the written work.

The student will also have the ability to

§         Understand several critical approaches to interpreting texts

§         Apply these approaches to specific texts

§         Relate the study of texts in English to other disciplines

§         Understand the general nature, purpose, and methods of English studies.”

 

Since I’m not a bureaucrat and don’t pretend to know in advance you, your needs, your goals, or what your goals should be, but only how I will judge your work, we will discuss what we hope to gain from studying this material throughout the course, and no doubt each of us will modify our goals as we learn and reflect more upon the discipline of literary criticism.

 

Course Requirements:

 

1.      You must submit four brief (3-5 pages), typed papers—three on one each of the eight approaches to literary criticism we will read about and discuss in class, and one reflective paper at the end of the course (10% of your final grade, each).  Two of the first three papers must focus on theory; one must be an application of theory to either The Awakening or “Ode:  Intimations of Immortality from Recollections.”  Which papers are theoretical and which is practical is your choice.

2.      You must revise and expand (to 5-7 pages) two of the first three brief papers and resubmit them for an additional grade (25% each).  You must submit the revised versions less than two weeks after I’ve returned the brief version you (or before the last day of class, whichever comes first).  You may not submit revised versions for both of the last two critical approaches; otherwise, which papers you revise is your choice.

3.      Each student must keep a journal.  You should use this journal to record your reflections upon each of the reading assignments.  Occasionally, I will place a question or a quotation upon the board for in-class writing, so bring your journal to every class.  I will grade the journal pass-fail;  a failure will lower your final grade by 10%.  I will take up your journals for inspection at irregular intervals during the semester.

4.      Class participation is required.  I expect you to come to class with your reading done and to be prepared to ask questions (10%).

5.      There will be no examinations.

 

Schedule:

 

(Note:  This schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion.)

 

Week 1:  Aug. 20, 22

 

T.  Intro. to course.  Begin reading The Awakening and “Ode.”

 

Formal Criticism

 

R.  Read CC 71-79.

 

Week 2:  Aug. 27, 29

 

T.  Read CC 80-96.

R.  Read CC 133-138.

 

Week 3:  Sept. 3, 5

 

T.  Literary Research. Meet in Jackson Library.

R.  Literary Research. Meet in Jackson Library.

 

Historical Criticism

 

Week 4:  Sept. 10, 12

 

T.  Read CC 9-28, 34-39.

R.  Read CC 65-70.  Assign:  Brief Paper #1.

 

Reader Response

 

Week 5:  Sept. 17, 19

 

T.  Read CC 139-49.

R.  Read CC 150-65.

 

Week 6:  Sept. 24, 26

 

T.  Due:  Draft of Brief Paper #1 (Formalist/Historical).  Workshop.

R.  Read CC 166-180.

 

Week 7:  Oct. 1, 3

 

T.  Read CC 190-195.  Due:  Brief Paper # 1.

 

Marxist and New Historicist Criticism

 

R.  Read CC 451-59.  Assign:  Brief Paper #2.

 

 

Week 8:  Oct. 8, 10

 

T.  Read CC  460-67, 477-82.

R.  Read CC  498-504.

 

Week 9:  Oct. 15, 17

 

T.  Spring Break!!

 

Intertextual Criticism

 

R.  Due:  Draft, Brief Paper #2 (Reader-response).  Workshop.

 

Week 10:  Oct. 22, 24

 

T.  Read CC 279-92, 293-301.

R.  Read CC 302-11, 346-53.  Due:  Brief Paper #2.

 

Feminist Criticism

 

Week 11:  Oct. 29, 31

 

T.  Read HANDOUT.

R.  Read  CC  235-45.

 

 

Week 12:  Nov. 5, 7

 

T.  Read CC 354-70.  Assign: Brief Paper #3.

R.  Read CC 433-49.

 

Week 13:  Nov. 12, 14

 

T.  Due:  Draft, Brief Paper #3 (Marxist, New Historicist, Feminist).  Workshop.

     Assign:  Reflective Paper.

 

Deconstruction

 

R.  Read CC 371-82..  Due:  Brief Paper #3.

 

Week 14:  Nov. 19, 21

 

T.  Read CC 383-94. 

R.  Read CC  395-404.

 

Week 15:  Nov. 26, 28

 

T.  Due:  Draft, Reflective Paper.  Workshop.

R.  Thanksgiving!!

 

Week 16:  Dec. 3, 5

 

T.  Read CC 425-32

R.  Due:  Reflective Paper.  Review of course.

 

Notice:  To enhance communication with majors, the English Department has set up a listserve.  Please join the listserve by sending this message from the e-mail account (on campus or at home) that you use most regularly:  listproc@uncg.edu: subscribe English-l firstname lastname. (Substitute your first name and last name for those terms in the message.  For example  subscribe English-l Jane Doe.  Note that the letter l follows English, not the number 1.)