Fall 2014 - WL 200 D900
Literary Analysis and Interpretation (3)
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 2 – Dec 1, 2014: Tue, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Surrey -
Exam Times + Location:
Dec 13, 2014
Sat, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
Surrey
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Instructor:
Mark Deggan
mdeggan@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
six units in World Literature, including WL 100, 103W or 104W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Introduces major theoretical approaches to literature and fundamental techniques of literary analysis. Develops students' critical skills for analytical writing about literature in comparative, cross-cultural contexts.
COURSE DETAILS:
Through the Lens: Interpretation & World Literature
This course teaches students skills crucial to literary understanding at the university level. It begins with the question of whether understanding literature is a ‘natural’ skill or a mode of particular cultural, aesthetic, and intellectual discourses, and then proceeds through the academic “schools” by which contemporary responses to literary texts are being framed. There are two goals here: firstly, by studying a variety of critical approaches, students will be not only better able to communicate ideas about literature, but take part in the issues surrounding the scholarly construction of cultural and moral outlooks; and, secondly, whether one is looking at feminist, psychoanalytic, Marxist, or postcolonial approaches to analyzing texts, we need to confront how, if we cannot conceive of new questions to ask through these scholarly lenses, we can ever truly look through them.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
- Introductory understanding of Literary Theory as an academic discipline
- Comprehension of terms and concepts of major schools of criticism
- Ability to conceive literary texts through different critical registers
- Confidence in evaluating different aesthetic forms through theory
Grading
- Participation and attendance 15%
- Short paper 15%
- Group project: theory slam 10%
- Midterm 25%
- Term paper and proposal 35%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
NB: Students are responsible for acquiring these texts. OnlyTyson’s Critical Theory Today will be available at the SFU Bookstore – you must acquire Coetzee’s Disgrace YOURSELF.
Lois Tyson Critical Theory Today: A User Friendly Guide, 2nd Edition Routledge (2006) 978-0415974103
J. M. Coetzee Disgrace, Vintage (2000) 978-0099289524 (Students to order!)
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (Available online)
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS