Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2020 - ENGL 216 D100

History and Principles of Literary Criticism (3)

Class Number: 4803

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Tue, Thu, 2:30–3:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 11, 2020
    Fri, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Two 100 division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The study of selected works in the history of literary criticism, up to and including modern and contemporary movements in criticism.

COURSE DETAILS:

Is it any good? And what is it good for? Evaluating literature, from Plato to Auerbach

We'll start in ancient Greece with selections from Plato (Republic X) and Aristotle (the Poetics). Here we'll be talking about fundamental, profound, and rather troubling concepts of mimesis and recognition. Next, with the help of the Roman theorist Quintillian (the Institutes), we'll briefly introduce traditions of rhetorical and metrical analysis. Augustine's On Christian Doctrine, from the dawn of medieval Europe, will make us aware of semiotics and hermeneutics. Then a big jump into early modernity: Sir Philip Sidney's Defence of Poesy from the late sixteenth century, and Samuel Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare from the eighteenth. Our goal here will be to watch a certain concept of "literature" start to emerge--along with some powerful and perhaps questionable assumptions about its nature and value. Wordsworth, Walter Pater, and others will allow us to track the development of these assumptions in the nineteenth century. A very little bit of Immanuel Kant (the Critique of Judgment) may help us to nail down their meaning. Our readings will conclude in the 1940s with Eric Auerbach's brilliant return ("The Scar of Odysseus") to Platonic categories. Throughout this course, we will be asking, not just how we do literary criticism; but why.

All readings will be made available on Canvas, via link or .pdf.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Attaining familiarity with some basic and crucial questions of expression, representation, and interpretation.
  • Reflexive and productive thinking about our own commentary (writing).

Grading

  • Mid-term writing (4-5 doublespaced pages) 15%
  • Presentation/project 15%
  • Term paper (6-8 dbs pp) 35%
  • Final exam 35%

NOTES:

The delivery method for this course in Fall 2020 is, obviously, going to differ from the norm. I am very sorry about that, because I like the norm. However, there is nothing we can do. We will be relying pretty heavily on SFU’s Learning Management System, Canvas, which (in my experience) is very user-friendly. Via our course’s Canvas page, you can expect to watch lectures by me—probably recorded, that is, not in real time—and also to participate in real-time seminar discussions. You can also expect me to be available and accessible to each and every one of you via email, Canvas message, and videoconference. My pledge to you is to make the course work.

Prompts will be provided for the written assignments, both of which will basically be analytical "essays." (That term, however, is one that we will submit to critique.) The presentation, on the other hand, will be low-pressure, and wide-open. Detailed expectations for the final exam will be made clear well in advance.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

All readings will be made available by the instructor, as weblink or .pdf, on the course's Canvas page.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/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

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020

Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).