Course syllabus

 

SEMESTER 2, 2017
Course Information

• Course Coordinator 

Alex Calder -- a.calder@auckland.ac.nz

• Teacher

Alex Calder -- a.calder@auckland.ac.nz

• Tutor

Alex Calder -- a.calder@auckland.ac.nz  

• Course delivery format

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial

Lectures: Monday and Thursday at 12 pm in Clock Tower 029

Summary of Course Description              

This course explores a range of theoretical ideas and concepts that have shaped literary studies today. But it is not a course about abstract isms. Instead, we will be putting theory into practice. At the heart of each class you will find fascinating examples from literature and popular culture. We use these texts to illuminate ideas and to show how theoretical concepts can open up possibilities in our reading and writing.  

The course takes a ‘keywords’ approach in order to develop your capacity to generate interesting ideas and arguments in your own writing. Each class is based around a key critical concept. We investigate the issues and problems the keyword raises while using our examples to explore reading and writing strategies the keyword opens out. We begin with two very broad keywords : representation and interpretation. We next examine a number of concepts closely related to the activity of reading and writing stories, such as: narrative, character, secrets and suspense. The keyword selection changes up a gear with several related to psychoanalytical approaches: unconscious, desire and the uncanny. By this time, we are ready for some keywords - structure, binaries, figurative language - that open out those more highly theoretical conceptual spaces associated with deconstruction and post-structuralism. The last third of the course examines keywords that are related to topics of strong critical interest today, such as: culture, nature, gods, monsters, nature. 

By the end of the course, students will have discovered that the keywords approach is really a kind of helpful confidence trick. It is designed to make thinking about texts in a reflexive and critical way part of your basic skill set.

Course outcomes

• You will understand and be able to apply a variety of approaches to reading and thinking about texts.
• You will become more attentive to the theoretical dimensions and possibilities of literary studies.

• You will develop transferable interpretive and critical skills that will help you perform well in advanced courses.

• You will become familiar with ideas that can make your own writing - whether critical or creative - more intellectually compelling.

• The course as a whole promotes an up-to-date awareness of the relation of literary studies to broader interdisciplinary knowledge elsewhere in the humanities and social sciences. And in that way, the course helps bring coherence to your overall programme of study, whatever it may be.

 

Weekly Topics

Lectures: Monday and Thursday at 12 pm in Clock Tower 029

Week	Beginning	Topic				Readings
1	July 24	Introduction				B&R 1-2
		Representation  and Realism				B&R 4; L&M 1
2	July 31	Interpretation				B&R 2-3; L&M 9
		Narrative				B&R 7; L&M 5
3	August 7	Character				B&R 8
		Secrets and Suspense				B&R 29, 34
		1st essay  due Monday 14 August, 2 pm.
4	August 14	Discourse				L&M 23
		Ideology				B&R 25 L&M 22
5	August 21	Unconscious				B&R 17 Freud Canvas
		Uncanny				B&R 5 Freud Canvas
6	August 28	Desire				B&R 27 L&M 26
		Originality				Essays on Canvas
		2nd essay  due Thursday 31 August 2 pm.
SEMESTER BREAK: 2-17 SEPTEMBER
7	September 18	Structure				L&M 2
		Binaries				L&M 3
8	September 25	Figurative Language				B&R 10, 33, L&M 6
		Culture				L&M 16
9	October 2	Nature				B&R 18, 19
		Gods				B&R 24
	October 9	Mutants & Monsters				B&R 32
10		Value & Taste				B&R 6, L&M 13
		3rd Essay due Thursday October 12, 2 pm
11	October 16	Empire & Colony				B&R 30-31
		Body				B&R 21, 23
12	October 23	LABOUR DAY HOLIDAY
		Recap/Revision/Exam Prep
LECTURES END FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER
Examination Date and Time TBA

 

Prescribed Texts:

 

Set Text: Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, 5th ed. Longman, 2016.  You will find it very helpful to have your own hard copy of this text. There is restricted access (up to 68 pages) through the University Library to the 3^rd edition.

Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin eds., Critical Terms for Literary Study, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1995. An electronic edition is available through the library. No need to  purchase.

Recommended Texts:

Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, Literary Theory: An Anthology, Blackwell, 1998.

Jonathan Culler, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, OUP 2000.

Workload:

The University of Auckland's expectation on 15-point courses, is that students spend 10 hours per week on the course. Students manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Students attend two hours of lectures each week and participate in a one-hour tutorial from week 2 of semester. This leaves seven hours per week outside the classroom to prepare for tutorials, assignments and the exam.

English 230 ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Coursework. Coursework is worth 50% of the final grade. There are three essays. The first two are short comprehension exercises (each about 500 words and worth 10%) relating to the first eight or so topics covered in the course. The third essay (1,500 to 2,000 words and worth 30%) requires an in-depth exploration of a topic covered in weeks 6 to 10.

The Exam. The two hour exam is worth 50% of your final grade. It is in two sections. Section A is worth 25% and requires critical discussion of a story or other text made available in the last week of lectures. In section B, worth 25%, students choose one question from a list corresponding to the timetable’s list of lecture topics; however, there will only be one question per lecture topic, and a good answer is likely to involve knowledge of a cluster of critical terms.

Restrictions You may not repeat topics used in assignments in section B of the exam.

Please note that this course assumes a broad understanding of text: not just literary texts, not just films, but texts in all media. You are free to discuss any type of text in assignments or the exam.

Requirements for the presentation of coursework. Coursework requires proper referencing and a bibliography. I recommend that you follow the Chicago Style guide—see the Student Learning Centre’s ‘Referencecite’ for basic information. MLA style is also acceptable.

 Students should obtain a cover sheet for the assignment from Canvas and submit hard copy at reception at level 3 of Arts 1 by 4 pm on the due day.

Turnitin Students must also submit an electronic copy of each essay to turnitin.

 Details to come.

Policy on extensions and late work

If you are unable to hand in an assignment by the due date, you should notify your tutor or lecturer beforehand and explain the circumstances in a face-to-face meeting or via email. If an extension is granted, you must attach to your submitted essay any relevant documents (such as a copy of a medical certificate) and an approval email from the staff member. Extensions are generally granted for compelling reasons, such as illness, or other unforeseen emergencies.  English 230 does not allow penalty grades for late work. Any student who fails to submit an assignment on time must contact the convenor as soon as possible. Work handed in late without explanation or permission will not be marked but may be taken into account at the examiner’s meeting.