ENGL 373(F) Modern Critical Theory

This course will explore the complex and provocative work of a variety of contemporary theorists in terms of a few, fairly simple questions. What are we up to when we read literary texts? What norms or conventions inform even our most casual interpretive act, and where do they come from? What forms of pleasure and what assertions of power are entailed in reading and writing and how do our literary pursuits bear on questions of sexual and political desire? We will look at rhetorical theory from the New Critics to DeMan, Semiotics and Deconstruction, feminist and Lacanian theory, as well as political interpreters such as Benjamin, Foucault, and Zizek. In order to keep our own activities as readers at the forefront, we will enter into the critical fray by way of a variety of specific literary texts and films. Requirements: two papers, one shorter, one longer. Prerequisite: English 101. Enrollment limited to 25. (Criticism)

Hour: PYE