Overview
ENGL 423: Advanced Literary Theory investigates the power of reading practices to challenge conventional perspectives and offer new ways of understanding the world around us. It examines key authors, primary texts, and movements in literary theory from the early twentieth century to the present. The course spans from Formalist traditions to interdisciplinary discourses such as post-colonial theory, feminist critique, Indigenous epistemologies, affect studies, ecocriticism, and posthumanism. Students will engage with foundational concepts and arguments of these theories to explore how these frameworks have shaped the study of literature and culture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Through comparative analysis, the course puts the dominant history of Formalist methodologies in conversation with other materialist, decolonial, and intersectional approaches and examines how these theoretical paradigms reshape our interpretation of identity, power, gender, and ecological relations. ENGL 423 emphasizes the interdisciplinary relevance of literary theory while advancing a principle fundamental to all literary studies and applicable across the humanities and social sciences: these reading practices shape how we interpret the world. These practices apply equally to classical literature, like Shakespeare, and to contemporary platforms, such as social media. In each case, they invite us to reflect on how we see the world, ourselves, and others.
ENGL 423 presumes that students have a background in literary analysis, including familiarity with a range of literary genres (poetry, drama, and prose) and experience in writing well-structured critical essays. As this course engages with complex theoretical frameworks and advanced interpretive methods, students should be prepared to engage with primary texts.
Outline
Unit 1: Russian Formalism and New Criticism
Unit 2: Structuralism, Linguistics, and Narratology
Unit 3: Post-Structuralism
Unit 4: Psychoanalysis and Psychology
Unit 5: Marxism, Critical Theory, and History
Unit 6: Gender Studies and Queer Theory
Unit 7: Ethnic, Post-Colonial, and Transnational Studies
Unit 8: Indigenous Studies
Unit 9: Cognition, Emotion, Evolution, and Science
Unit 10: Animals, Humans, Places, and Things
Learning outcomes
After completing ENGL 423, you should be able to
- identify the contributions of key figures in contemporary literary theory.
- compare the aims and methodologies of major schools of contemporary literary theory.
- apply modern theoretical approaches to analyze literary texts.
- demonstrate how critical and theoretical perspectives engage with contemporary social and political issues.
- evaluate how modern theoretical frameworks challenge traditional readings, values, and norms.
- critically analyze and interpret specific theoretical concepts within literary works.
- develop well-structured arguments/essays that demonstrate advanced writing skills and critical thinking on the studied topics.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENGL 423, you must submit all the assignments and write the final examination. To pass the course, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent) and a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the final examination.
You will be evaluated based on your understanding of the arguments presented in the course and on your ability to apply those theories to literary texts. Your final grade in the course will be based on the marks achieved for the following activities.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Critical Reflection 1 | 5% |
| Assignment 2: Critical Reflection 2 | 5% |
| Assignment 3: Review Quiz | 15% |
| Assignment 4: Critical Reading in Practice | 10% |
| Assignment 5: Term Paper | 30% |
| Final Examination | 35% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, editors. Literary Theory: An Anthology. 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2017.
Other materials
Additional readings will be assigned or suggested throughout the course.