English 110A-1 - Summer Sessions I, 2014

Introduction to Literary Theory

Class Information

Instructor: Embry, Karen
CRN: 53615
Time: TR 8:00-10:30
Location: 107 Cruess

Description

In this course we will study the development of Western literary and aesthetic theory from ancient Greek philosophy through German idealism. Readings will include selections from canonical texts by Plato, Aristotle, Longinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Boccaccio, Sidney, Dryden, Behn, Vico, Pope, Johnson, Hume, Kant, Burke, Schiller, Wollstonecraft, Wordsworth, Schleiermacher, and Hegel. Our goal will be to illuminate the singular vision of these authors in response to their assessment of the place of literature and art in their respective historical moments, while tracing a narrative arc that accounts for the development of Western aesthetic theory in relation to key political, cultural, and social movements. We will also consider what these texts mean for the contemporary literary critic and how these authors’ works set the stage for our modern understanding of literary scholarship.

Grading

Grading: short essay, longer essay, midterm, final

Texts

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, 2nd ed. , ISBN: 978-0393932928