Course Overview

Why do we read literature and why should we read literature? How can we become better readers of literature? This course will provide students with an introduction to the art of literary criticism with a focus on criticism's historical development and on variations between contemporaneous approaches. By examining our critical history, students will be able to expand their repertoire of analytical techniques to use when analyzing literature in courses leading up to completion of the English major.

Objectives

During the semester, I expect students to achieve the following goals:

• Understand the development of literature, literary criticism and critical theory.

• Be able to identify various patterns in literary criticism over the course of its development as an intellectual activity.

• Apply various approaches to discussions of literary works with consideration of their worth, their context, their style or genre, and its different possible meanings.

• Write convincing arguments about literature addressing the significance of a particular work, its aesthetic qualities, its engagement with a particular historical period, and what we can learn from it, among other issues.

• Recall key facts about the works in question.

• Use the MLA citation format to provide the correct attribution for other people's ideas.

Expectations

In order to accomplish these goals, students must

• Read all of the assigned texts carefully in advance of the class day on which we will discuss them.

• Attend classÑshow up on time and prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that day. Students have a responsibility to plan their schedules to avoid excessive conflicts with course requirements. Excessive absences will have a negative impact on the grade in this course. Excusable absences include "subpoenas, jury duty, military duty, religious observances, illness, bereavement for immediate family and NCAA varsity college athletics." Please contact the instructor about anticipated absences in order to minimize their influence on your coursework. For more information on excused absences, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/ExcusedAbsence.html"

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of these works in exams and papers. For additional information about policies governing final exams, see "http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/FinalExams.html".

• Respect fellow students and refrain from behavior that might impair their learning opportunities. Any behavior that substantially and repeatedly interrupts the instructor's ability to teach or the students' ability to learn will result in appropriate penalties. Disruptive behavior includes inappropriate use of communications technology in the classroom, such as ringing cell phones, text-messaging, watching videos, playing computer games, doing email, or surfing the Internet on one's computer instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities. For further clarification of UMD policies in this regard, consult UMD's Student Conduct Code at "http://www.d.umn.edu/conduct/code/". UMD instructors and students have a responsibility to maintain a learning environment that is, as stated in the Teaching and Learning Policy, "respectful of the rights and freedoms of all members, and promotes a civil and open exchange of ideas." The full policy is available at "http://www.d.umn.edu/vcaa/TeachingLearning.html".

Grade Breakdown:

Your grade will depend primarily on your written work and the understanding of the material that you convey through that work. A command of standard written English and the ability to present an argument will also contribute to the determination of your grade.

Late assignments will receive a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade for each business day that they are late. Students who miss exams may not make them up without a valid excuse for the absence. If students anticipate missing an exam or a paper deadline for a valid reason and consult with me in advance, I can consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Academic dishonesty tarnishes the reputation of the University of Minnesota Duluth and discredits the accomplishments of its students. Because the university is committed to providing students every possible opportunity to grow in mind and spirit, it must insist on an environment of trust, honesty, and fairness. Consequently, all members of the academic community must regard any act of academic dishonesty as a serious offense. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which is available online at "http://www.d.umn.edu/conduct/integrity/". This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might influence their capacity to perform in this class, should inform me at the start of the semester. I can make special adaptations of teaching methods, assignments, materials, or testing as required to provide for equitable participation in the course. The Office of Disability Resources is also available to assist students with disabilities. It is located in 258 Kirby Student Center and on the web at "http://www.d.umn.edu/access/".

Required Texts

Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Fifth Edition. New York: Longman, 2011. Print.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. Ed. Leland S. Person. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Edward Pechter. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Print.

Supplementary Texts

Bercovitch, Sacvan. The Rites of Assent: Transformations in the Symbolic Construction of America. New York: Routledge, 1993. Print.

Chase, Richard. The American Novel and Its Tradition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U. P., 1957. Print.

Dekker, George. The American Historical Romance. Cambridge: Cambridge U. P., 1987. Print.

Diffee, Christopher. "Postponing Politics in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter." Modern Language Notes 111 (1996): 835-71. Print.

Donahue, Agnes McNeil. Hawthorne: Calvin's Ironic Stepchild. Kent, OH: Kent State U. P., 1985. Print.

Donaldson, Peter. Shakespearean Films/Shakespearean Directors. Boston: Unwyn Hyman, 1990. Print.

Fleischner, Jennifer. "Hawthorne and the Politics of Slavery." Studies in the Novel 23 (1991): 96-106. Print.

Fraser, Russell. Young Shakespeare. New York: Columbia U. P., 1988. Print.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self-Fashioning. Chicago: U. of Chicago P., 1980. Print.

------. Representing the English Renaissance. Berkeley, CA: U. of California P., 1983. Print.

Moers, Ellen. "The Scarlet Letter: A Political Reading." Prospects 9 (1985): 49-70. Print.

Montrose, Louis. The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of Elizabethan Theatre. Chicago: U. of Chicago P., 1996. Print.

Orrell, John. The Human Stage: English Theatre Design, 1567-1640. Cambridge: Cambridge U. P., 2009. Print.

Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860. New York: Oxford U. P., 1985. Print.

Vaughan, Virginia Mason. Othello: A Contextual History. Cambridge: Cambridge U. P., 1994. Print.