English (ENGL) 423
Advanced Literary Theory (Revision 3)
Revision 3 closed, replaced by current version.
Delivery Mode: Individualized study online.
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Humanities
Prerequisite: ENGL 211 and ENGL 212 or equivalent, and any senior-level English course.
Centre: Centre for Language and Literature
ENGL 423 is not available for challenge.
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Overview
ENGL 423 examines the major contemporary theories of literature and their application in practical criticism.
The twentieth century has seen the development of several theories of literature that have influenced our reading, understanding, and criticism of various genres and of both old and new works. The course looks at the history and nature of the following movements: Formalism, New Criticism, Reader-Response Theory, Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, Poststructuralism, Feminist Poetics, Postmodernism, and Postcolonialism.
Outline
Lesson 1: Introduction: Literary Studies and Theory
Lesson 2: Formalism and New Criticism
Lesson 3: Rhetoric and Reader-Response
Lesson 4: Structuralism and Semiotics
Lesson 5: Poststructuralism, Deconstruction and Postmodernism
Lesson 6: Psychology and Psychoanalysis
Lesson 7: Psychoanalysis and Psychology
Lesson 8: Historical Criticism
Lesson 9: Feminism and Gender Studies
Lesson 10: Postcolonialism
Lesson 11: Cultural Studies
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENGL 423, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on each assignment and a composite course grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Essay 1 | Essay 2 | Essay 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 35% | 40% | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Davis, Robert Con, and Ronald Schleifer, eds. 1998. Contemporary Literary Criticism: Literary and Cultural Studies, 4th. ed. New York: Longman.
Gunew, Sneja and Anna Yeatman, eds. 1993. Feminism and the Politics of Difference. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
Hutcheon, Linda. 1989. The Politics of Postmodernism. New York: Routledge.
Seldon, Raman, Peter Widdowson and Peter Brooker, eds. 1997. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory, 4th. ed. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall.
Other materials
The course materials also include an Athabasca University-produced student manual and reading file.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 3, June 11, 2008.
View previous syllabus
Last updated by SAS 09/10/2013 11:31:20
