Theories of Literature and Culture

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English 2265G: Introduction to Theory

The Department of English and Cultural Studies | Huron University College

Dr. Frederick D. King | Email: [email protected] | Schedule: Tues 11:30-1:30pm, Thurs 11:30am-12:30pm |

Office: HC-A306 | Office Hours: 9:00-11:00am | Classroom: HC-W101

Antirequisite(s): English 2210F/G, 2236F/G.

Prerequisite(s): At least 60% in 1.0 of any 1000-level English course, or permission of the Department.

Extra Information: 3 hours, 0.5 course.

Course Description

Introduction to the major modes of literary and cultural theory, and the prevailing issues within them pertaining

to medium and form, gender and sexuality, race and nation, culture and history. Specifically, students will

survey the role that interdisciplinary theories have played in the development of literary studies since the end of

the 19

century until our own contemporary moment. The course will cover major theoretical schools of

thought: New Criticism, Semiotics, Formalism, Psychoanalysis, Post-Structuralism, Postmodernism, Feminism,

Queer Theory, Postcolonialism, Critical Race Theory, Marxism, Cultural Materialism, the Digital Humanities,

Textual Studies, Ecocriticism, and Animal Studies. Our goal will be to consider the role of theory in the study

of literature and culture, as well as its application within everyday life. Through class presentations, written

assignments, and tests, students will be asked to place theory into conversation with their own critical voice in

order to develop and conceive of innovative ideas regarding the value and practice of intellectual discourse in

the academy and beyond.

Learning Objectives

 Survey a variety of theoretical schools in order to critically engage with schools of thought that have

influenced literary studies.

 Comprehend and teach materials on the course list to one another through class presentations and

discussion.

 Write critical arguments about literary theory and criticism through essay assignments.

 Discover and practice new methods of critical analysis through a final research essay that places

knowledge from the class into discussion with the practice of literary criticism.

Required Texts Available on OWL and ONLINE

*There is currently no anthology that covers all of the works we will be reading. Therefore, readings will be

provided to students via the course’s OWL website under “Resources.”

Classroom Etiquette

 Students must bring a PAPER copy of the assigned readings for that week and have them out and on the

table in order to make marginal notes and highlight key passages pointed out by the class presenter and

the instructor.

 Students must turn off their cell phones and keep them stored in their bags during the entire class.

 The internet on student laptops must be turned off so that both you and the professor can focus on the

conversation at hand.

 Students are expected to read weekly assigned works in advance of class and be prepared to discuss their

contents in detail.

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 Students are responsible for their own attendance and are expected to make their own arrangements with

colleagues if they miss class for medical or emergency reasons. Absenteeism is strongly discouraged

and detrimental to student progress in the course.

 Critical engagement can sometimes mean disagreements. Students are asked to approach disagreements

critically and resolve them in class via lively and respectful debate.

Assignments

Class Presentation (10-15 minutes max.) 10%

Theory Response Essay (4 pages, MLA format) 15%

Term Test (10-short answer questions, 1-3 sentences) 15%

Research Essay (8 pages, MLA format) 20%

Final Exam (30-short answer questions, 1-3 sentences) 35%

A Note on Due Dates:

Meeting assignment deadlines is a part of what you are assessed on when submitting an essay or attending a

test. If you have sincere medical concerns (physical, mental, emotional) or a disability (physical or learning), or

a personal emergency (family death, personal crisis) that hinders your ability to meet deadlines, it is your

responsibility to make arrangement in advance with Academic Counselling for Accommodation in the course.

Beyond such situations, the instructor will not accept late assignments. Late assignments without academic

accommodation will receive a failing grade of 0%.

A Note on Submissions:

All writing assignments must be uploaded to the course’s OWL website on the assigned due date. For the

Theory Response paper, it must be uploaded prior to the class for which it is due. For the final research paper it

must be submitted NO LATER than 11:55pm on April 10

. Assignments will be checked against

TURNITIN.com for potential plagiarism. Paper submissions will not be accepted. All assignments must

conform to MLA formatting requirements which can be found here:

http://huronuc.libguides.com/c.php?g=455405&p=3111731

Assignment Details

Class Presentation (10-15 minutes max.) 10%

Students will sign up for a presentation date. You will be given a MAXIMUM of 15 minutes to make the

presentation on the assigned date. Your presentation must last 10 minutes and be organized to teach the class

how to approach the article assigned. The presentation must: 1. identity the author’s thesis statement; 2.

describe in the student’s own words the evidence that the author uses to make that argument; 3. propose the

ways in which the article’s theory can be applied to the study of literature; and 4. lead the subsequent classroom

discussion on the article with the support of the instructor. Reference to possible examples are encouraged but

your focus must be based on a close reading of the article chosen.

Theory Response Essay (4 pages, MLA format) 15%

Students must sign up to write a theory essay during the term based on one of the assigned articles. Students

must write on separate works and the article is due BEFORE the start of the class in which the article will be

discussed. The theory selection must be a different work from the one chosen for your class presentation. The

essay must be based upon an argumentative thesis that responds to what you identify as the article’s thesis and it

must consider the question of how theory and criticism enriches the study of literary and cultural texts. The

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essay must include a close reading of at least one passage from the article. Essay must conform to MLA

formatting.

Term Test (15-short answer questions, 1-3 sentences) 15%

On Tuesday, February 6

, students will be given a 90-minute class period to answer 15 questions with concise

responses of 1-3 sentences in length. Responses should demonstrate the student’s knowledge of the material

studied up to that date in class. While students should explain ideas in their own words, demonstrating the

mastery of critical terminology discussed in class will enrich your responses.

Research Essay (8 pages, MLA format) 20%

Students are asked to write an essay arguing for how literary theory enriches their understanding of literature.

Students are asked to choose two articles on the course list not already discussed in either their Presentation or

their Response Essay. The essay must be based on an original argumentative thesis and incorporate close

readings of the essays chosen. This is a research project so your essay must include an additional 3 peer-

reviewed sources (ex. journal article, chapter from monograph or essay collection). Essays must conform to

MLA style guidelines. Students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to consult with the instructor during office

hours on the final essay at least 2 weeks in advance of the due date.

Final Exam (30-short answer questions, 1-3 sentences) 35%

Students will be given 3 hours to answer 30 questions with short responses of 1-3 sentences. The responses

should demonstrate the student’s knowledge of the material student over the entire period of the course. While

students should explain ideas in their own words, demonstrating the mastery of critical terminology discussed in

class will enrich your responses.

Class Schedule

Tu Jan 9 Introduction to Theory

Th Jan 11 W.K Wimsatt & Monroe C. Beardsley “The Intentional Fallacy”

Tu Jan 16 Ferdinand de Saussure from Course in General Linguistics

J. L. Austin Lectures I and II from How to Do Things with Words

Th Jan 18 M. M. Bakhtin “Heteroglossia in the Novel”

Tu Jan 23 Sigmund Freud from The Ego and the Id

Jacques Lacan “The Mirror Stage as Formation of the I Function as Revealed in Psychoanalytic

Experience”

Th Jan 25 Karl Marx from The German Ideology

Tu Jan 30 Louis Althusser “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”

Walter Benjamin “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”

Th Feb 1 Horkheimer and Adorno “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception”

Tu Feb 6 TERM TEST (15 Questions, 90 Minutes)

Th Feb 8 Jacques Derrida “Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences”

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Tu Feb 13 Roland Barthes “The Death of the Author”

Michel Foucault “What is an Author?”

Th Feb 15 Hayden White “The Historical Text as Literary Artifact”

Tu Feb 20 READING WEEK NO CLASSES

Th Feb 22 READING WEEK NO CLASSES

Tu Feb 27 Linda Hutcheon “Theorizing the Postmodern: Towards a Poetics”

Jean-Francois Lyotard “Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?”

Th Mar 1 bell hooks “Postmodern Blackness”

Tu Mar 6 Virginia Woolf from A Room of One’s Own

Shulamith Firestone The Ultimate Revolution: Demands and Speculations” from The Dialectic

of Sex

Th Mar 8 Audre Lorde “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”

Tu Mar 12 Judith Butler “Critically Queer”

Michel Foucault from The History of Sexuality

Th Mar 15 José Esteban Muñoz “Introduction” and “Queerness as Horizon: Utopian Hermeneutics in the

Face of Gay Pragmatism” from Cruising Utopia

Tu Mar 20 Toni Morrison “Playing in the Dark”

Franz Fanon “The Black Man and Language” from Black Skin White Masks

Th Mar 22 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o “Introduction” and “The Language of African Literature” from Decolonizing

the Mind

Tu Mar 27 Edward Said “Pilgrims and Pilgrimages, French and English” from Orientalism

Gayatri Chakavorty Spivak “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism”

Th Mar 29 Joseph Grigley “Editing Bodies” from Reimagining Textuality

Tu Apr 3 N. Katherine Hayles “How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis”

Jerome McGann “Introduction” and “Why Textual Scholarship Matters”

from A New Republic of Letters

Th Apr 5 Laurence Buell “Toxic Discourse” and “Ecocriticism: Some Emerging Trends”

Tu Apr 10 Lori Gruen “Attending to Nature: Empathetic Engagement with the More than Human World”

FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE

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FINAL EXAM TBA

STUDENT PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENTS

*One of your due dates (Presentation OR Paper) must be due before the end of February and the other due date

must be on or after March 1

. See the class schedule to determine the actual due date for the Theory response.

*Any changes in your selection MUST be approved in advance of the due date by the instructor after an in-

person discussion between the student(s) involved and in consultation with existing schedule. Choose carefully

with due dates in your other classes and outside commitments in mind to avoid problems that may arise.

Students who fail to show up for their presentation, or are unable to present on the day they’ve agreed to will

receive a failing grade unless an academic accommodation is provided.

DATE

AUTHOR

Presentation Selection

Theory Response Selection

Tu Jan 16

Saussure

Tu Jan 16

Austin

Th Jan 18

Bakhtin

Tu Jan 23

Freud

Tu Jan 23

Lacan

Th Jan 25

Marx

Tu Jan 30

Althusser

Tu Jan 30

Benjamin

Th Feb 1

Horkheimer & Adorno

Th Feb 8

Derrida

Tu Feb 13

Barthes

Tu Feb 13

Foucault

Th Feb 15

White

Tu Feb 27

Hutcheon

Tu Feb 27

Lyotard

XXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Th Mar 1

hooks

Tu Mar 6

Woolf

Tu Mar 6

Firestone

Th Mar 8

Lorde

Tu Mar 12

Butler

Tu Mar 12

Foucault

Th Mar 15

Muñoz

Tu Mar 20

Morrison

Tu Mar 20

Fanon

Th Mar 22

Thiong’o

Tu Mar 27

Said

Tu Mar 27

Spivak

Th Mar 29

Grigley

Tu Apr 3

Hayles

Tu Apr 3

McGann

Th Apr 5

Buell

Appendix to Course Outlines

Prerequisite Information

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Students are responsible for ensuring that they have successfully completed all course prerequisites. Unless you have

either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Provost and Dean to enrol in it, you may be

removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive

no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.

Conduct of Students in Classes, Lectures, and Seminars

Membership in the community of Huron University College and the University of Western Ontario implies acceptance by

every student of the principle of respect for the rights, responsibilities, dignity and well-being of others and a readiness to

support an environment conducive to the intellectual and personal growth of all who study, work and live within it. Upon

registration, students assume the responsibilities that such registration entails. The academic and social privileges granted

to each student are conditional upon the fulfillment of these responsibilities.

In the classroom, students are expected to behave in a manner that supports the learning environment of others. Students

can avoid any unnecessary disruption of the class by arriving in sufficient time to be seated and ready for the start of the

class, by remaining silent while the professor is speaking or another student has the floor, and by taking care of personal

needs prior to the start of class. If a student is late, or knows that he/she will have to leave class early, be courteous: sit in

an aisle seat and enter and leave quietly.

Please see the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities at:

http://www.huronuc.ca/CurrentStudents/StudentLifeandSupportServices/StudentDiscipline

Technology

It is not appropriate to use technology (such as, but not limited to, laptops, cell phones) in the classroom for non-

classroom activities. Such activity is disruptive and is distracting to other students and to the instructor, and can inhibit

learning. Students are expected to respect the classroom environment and to refrain from inappropriate use of technology

and other electronic devices in class.

Academic Accommodation for Medical/Non-Medical Grounds

Students who require special accommodation for tests and/or other course components must make the appropriate

arrangements with the Student Development Centre (SDC). Further details concerning policies and procedures may be

found at:

http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd/?requesting_acc

(a) Medical Grounds for assignments worth 10% or more of final grade: Go Directly to Academic Advising

University Senate policy, which can be found at

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf,

requires that all student requests for accommodation on medical grounds for assignments worth 10% or more of the final

grade be made directly to the academic advising office of the home faculty (for Huron students, the “home faculty” is

Huron), with supporting documentation in the form (minimally) of the Senate-approved Student Medical Certificate found

at: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/medicalform_15JUN.pdf.

The documentation is submitted in confidence and will not be shown to instructors. The advisors will contact the

instructor when the medical documentation is received, and will outline the severity and duration of the medical challenge

as expressed on the Student Medical Certificate and in any other supporting documentation. The student will be informed

that the instructor has been notified of the presence of medical documentation, and will be instructed to work as quickly as

possible with the instructor on an agreement for accommodation. The instructor will not normally deny accommodation

where appropriate medical documentation is in place and where the duration it describes aligns with the due date(s) of

assignment(s). Before denying a request for accommodation on medical grounds, the instructor will consult with the

Provost and Dean. The instructor’s decision is appealable to the Provost and Dean.

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(b) Accommodation on Medical Grounds for assignments worth less than 10% of final grade: Consult

Instructor Directly

When seeking accommodation on medical grounds for assignments worth less than 10% of the final course grade, the

student should contact the instructor directly. The student need only share broad outlines of the medical situation. The

instructor may require the student to submit documentation to the academic advisors, in which case she or he will advise

the student and inform the academic advisors to expect documentation. The instructor may not collect medical

documentation. The advisors will contact the instructor when the medical documentation is received, and will outline the

severity and duration of the medical challenge as expressed on the Student Medical Certificate and in any other supporting

documentation. The student will be informed that the instructor has been notified of the presence of medical

documentation, and will be instructed to work as quickly as possible with the instructor on an agreement for

accommodation. The instructor will not normally deny accommodation where appropriate medical documentation is in

place and where the duration it describes aligns with the due date(s) of assignment(s). Before denying a request for

accommodation on medical grounds, the instructor will consult with the Provost and Dean. The instructor’s decision is

appealable to the Provost and Dean.

Where the grounds for seeking accommodation are not medical, the student should contact the instructor directly. Late

penalties may apply at the discretion of the instructor. Apart from the exception noted below, academic advisors will not

be involved in the process of accommodation for non-medical reasons.

Where a student seeks accommodation on non-medical grounds where confidentiality is a concern, the student should

approach an academic advisor with any documentation available. The advisors will contact the instructor after the

student’s request is received, and will outline the severity and duration of the challenge without breaching confidence. The

student will be informed that the instructor has been notified that significant circumstances are affecting or have affected

the student’s ability to complete work, and the student will be instructed to work as quickly as possible with the instructor

on an agreement for accommodation. Before denying a request for accommodation where documentation has been

submitted to an academic advisor, the instructor will consult with the Provost and Dean. The instructor’s decision is

appealable to the Provost and Dean.

Statement on Academic Offences

Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition

of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site:

http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

Statement on Academic Integrity

The International Centre for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity as "a commitment, even in the face of

adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow

principles of behaviour that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action." (CAI Fundamental Values Project,

1999).

A lack of academic integrity is indicated by such behaviours as the following:

Cheating on tests;

Fraudulent submissions online;

Plagiarism in papers submitted (including failure to cite and piecing together unattributed

sources);

Unauthorized resubmission of course work to a different course;

Helping someone else cheat;

Unauthorized collaboration;

Fabrication of results or sources;

Purchasing work and representing it as one’s own.

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Academic Integrity: Importance and Impact

Being at university means engaging with a variety of communities in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge and

understanding in ways that are clear, respectful, efficient, and productive. University communities have established

norms of academic integrity to ensure responsible, honest, and ethical behavior in the academic work of the university,

which is best done when sources of ideas are properly and fully acknowledged and when responsibility for ideas is fully

and accurately represented.

In the academic sphere, unacknowledged use of another’s work or ideas is not only an offence against the community of

scholars and an obstacle to academic productivity. It may also be understood as fraud and may constitute an infringement

of legal copyright.

A university is a place for fulfilling one's potential and challenging oneself, and this means rising to challenges rather than

finding ways around them. The achievements in an individual’s university studies can only be fairly evaluated

quantitatively through true and honest representation of the actual learning done by the student. Equity in assessment for

all students is ensured through fair representation of the efforts by each.

Acting with integrity at university constitutes a good set of practices for maintaining integrity in later life. Offences

against academic integrity are therefore taken very seriously as part of the university’s work in preparing students to

serve, lead, and innovate in the world at large.

A university degree is a significant investment of an individual’s, and the public’s, time, energies, and resources in the

future, and habits of academic integrity protect that investment by preserving the university’s reputation and ensuring

public confidence in higher education.

Students found guilty of plagiarism will suffer consequences ranging from a grade reduction to failure in the

course to expulsion from the university. In addition, a formal letter documenting the offence will be filed in the

Provost and Dean’s Office, and this record of the offence will be retained in the Provost and Dean’s Office for the

duration of the student’s academic career at Huron University College.

All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism detection

software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be

included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently

submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of

Western Ontario and Turnitin.com.

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that

will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

Personal Response Systems (“clickers”) may be used in some classes. If clickers are to be used in a class, it is the

responsibility of the student to ensure that the device is activated and functional. Students must see their instructor if they

have any concerns about whether the clicker is malfunctioning. Students must use only their own clicker. If clicker

records are used to compute a portion of the course grade:

 the use of somebody else’s clicker in class constitutes a scholastic offence,

 the possession of a clicker belonging to another student will be interpreted as an attempt to commit a scholastic

offence.

Policy on Special Needs

Students who require special accommodation for tests and/or other course components must make the appropriate

arrangements with the Student Development Centre (SDC). Further details concerning policies and procedures may be

found at:

http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd/?requesting_acc

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Attendance Regulations for Examinations

A student is entitled to be examined in courses in which registration is maintained, subject to the following limitations:

1) A student may be debarred from writing the final examination for failure to maintain satisfactory academic standing

throughout the year.

2) Any student who, in the opinion of the instructor, is absent too frequently from class or laboratory periods in any course

will be reported to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty offering the course (after due warning has been given). On the

recommendation of the Department concerned, and with the permission of the Provost and Dean of that Faculty, the

student will be debarred from taking the regular examination in the course. The Provost and Dean of the Faculty offering

the course will communicate that decision to the Provost and Dean of the Faculty of registration.

Class Cancellations

In the event of a cancellation of class, every effort will be made to post that information on the Huron website,

http://www.huronuc.ca/AccessibilityInfo (“Class Cancellations”).

Mental Health @ Western

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health @ Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Academic Advising

For advice on course selections, degree requirements, and for assistance with requests for medical accommodation [see

above], students should contact an Academic Advisor in Huron’s Student Support Services ([email protected]a). An

outline of the range of services offered is found on the Huron website at:

http://www.huronuc.ca/CurrentStudents/AcademicAdvisorsandServices

Department Chairs and Program Directors and Coordinators are also able to answer questions about their individual

programs. Their contact information can be found on the Huron website at:

http://www.huronuc.ca/Academics/FacultyofArtsandSocialScience