ENGL 500 G - Intro to Criticism & Research

Campus: Urbana-Champaign

Description:

Introductory course in methods and techniques in research and literary criticism.

Special Instructions:

This course will survey some of the major theoretical developments and debates that have shaped the study of literature and culture from the eighteenth century to the present. We begin by examining the emergence of key modern concepts of critique in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Kant and Marx). We then consider the evolution of new forms and sites of critique in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, in response to the problems of capitalism, fascism, colonialism, racism, and globalization. Our readings in contemporary theory will include some of the foundational texts in critical race theory, feminist and queer theory, postcolonial theory, indigenous studies, and ecocriticism. Throughout, we will pay attention to how theoretical approaches overlap and diverge and consider their influence in shaping the goals and methods of humanistic inquiry. Finally, we will think about how to effectively engage theory in our own research and writing. By the end, you will be equipped to

Option 1

Course Level: Graduate

Credit: 4

Term(s): Fall