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 the history of literary criticism, students will be able to expand their repertoire of 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.

• Identify various patterns in literary criticism over the course of its development as an intellectual activity.

• Apply various critical approaches to discussions of literary works with consideration of their value, contexts, styles or genres, and different possible meanings.

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

Student Learning Outcomes for the English Major

1. Discuss works from major movements and/or periods in literary history.

2. Analyze the role of difference (which might include racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, economic, and/or ideological differences) in producing, publishing and interpreting literature.

3. Identify major characteristics of the dominant literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama) and use those characteristics to analyze individual examples.

4. Interpret literary works with close attention to the nuances of language, content and form.

5. Apply concepts from literary theory and criticism in the analysis and interpretation of texts.

6. Describe the ways in which texts emerge from and respond to their historical and cultural contexts.

7. Write focused, convincing analytical essays that incorporate relevant secondary sources.

8. Collaborate in the discussion and interpretation of literature by listening to others' perspectives, asking productive questions, and articulating original ideas.

In order to equip English majors to succeed in their major, this course will touch on all of the above Student Learning Outcomes with a special focus on outcomes 3, 4, 5, and 7.

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 class, showing up on time and prepared to discuss the readings assigned for a given day. Students have a responsibility to plan their schedules to avoid excessive conflicts with course requirements.

• 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/academic-affairs/academic-policies/examination-policies/final-examinations".

  Grade Breakdown:

  Book Review	5%
  Passage Analysis	10%
  Criticism Analysis	30%
  Midterm Exam	15%
  Final Exam	30%
  Presentation	5%
  Participation	5%

• Written Work. 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.

  Writers' Workshop UMD offers free writing support from graduate student or faculty writing consultants to all members of the campus community at the Writers' Workshop. The consultants will work with you on any writing project at any stage in the writing process. To make an appointment, visit "http://www.d.umn.edu/writwork/" or stop by the Learning Commons on the second floor of the Kathryn A. Martin Library. Look for the Workshop's trademark wall mural covered with quotations about writing.

• 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.

• 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/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/student-academic-integrity". This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

• Disability Accommodations. 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. The Office of Disability Resources writes that "[i]t is the policy and practice of the University of Minnesota Duluth to create inclusive learning environments for all students, including students with disabilities. If there are aspects of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or your ability to meet course requirements—such as time limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos—please notify the instructor as soon as possible." You can contact the Office of Disability Resources to discuss and arrange reasonable accommodations by calling 218-726-6130 or by visiting the Disability Resources website at "http://www.d.umn.edu/access/".

• Notetaking. Remember that there are rules against disseminating these notes beyond the classroom community, which you can find at "http://www.d.umn.edu/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/course-notes-and-materials".

• Attendance. Excessive absences will have a negative impact on the grade that you receive 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/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/excused-absences".

• Student Conduct. 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, reading email, or browsing the Internet instead of note-taking or other instructor-sanctioned activities. For further clarification of UMD policies in this regard, consult the Board of Regents Policy at "https://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf".

• Civility. 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/academic-affairs/academic-policies/classroom-policies/instructor-and-student-responsibilities".

Required Texts

We will be reading the following texts in this course, including selections of reviews and critical works in the Norton Critical Editions.

Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 5th ed., Longman, 2011.

Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. W. W. Norton, 2015.

Keats, John. Keats's Poetry and Prose. Edited by Jeffrey N. Cox, W. W. Norton, 2013.

McCarthy, Tom. Remainder. Vintage, 2007.

Supplementary Texts

The following texts are not required for the course, but will give you some starting points for further exploration of a particular topic.

Literary Criticism

Abrams, Meyer H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Oxford UP, 1971.

Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction.ÊOxford UP, 1997.

Eagleton, Terry. Marxism and Literary Criticism. U of California P, 1976.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. 1929. Mariner, 1989.

Tom McCarthy

De Boever, Arne. Narrative Care: Biopolitics and the Novel. Bloombury, 2013.

Miller, Sydney. "Intentional Fallacies: (Re)Enacting the Accidental in Tom McCarthy's Remainder." Contemporary Literature, vol. 56, no. 4, Winter 2015, pp. 634-659.

Vermeulen, Pieter. "The Critique of Trauma and the Afterlife of the Novel in Tom McCarthy's Remainder." MFS: Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 58, no. 3, Fall 2012, pp. 549-568.

John Keats

Bloom, Harold. "Keats and the Embarrassments of Poetic Tradition." The Ringers in the Tower: Studies in the Romantic Tradition. U of Chicago P, 1971, pp. 71-98.

Brooks, Cleanth. "Keats's Sylvan Historian: History without Footnotes." The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry. Harcourt, Brace, Jovonovich, 1975, pp. 151-166.

Coote, Stephen. John Keats: A Life. Hodder & Stoughton, 1995.

Motion, Andrew. Keats. U of Chicago P, 1999.

Rajan, Tilottama. Dark Interpreter: The Discourse of Romanticism. Cornell UP, 1980.

Swann, Karen. "Harassing the Muse." Romanticism and Feminism. Ed. Anne K. Mellor. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1988, pp. 81-92.

Vendler, Helen. The Odes of John Keats. Harvard UP, 1983.

Willa Cather

Funda, Evelyn I. "Picturing Their Ántonia(s): Mikolás Ales and the Partnership of W. T. Benda and Willa Cather." Cather Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2010, pp. 353-378.

Lambert, Deborah G. "The Defeat of a Hero: Autonomy and Sexuality in My Ántonia." American Literature, vol. 54, no. 4., January 1982, pp. 676-690.

Lucenti, Lisa Marie. "Willa Cather's My Ántonia: Haunting the Houses of Memory." Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 46, no. 2, 2000, pp. 193-213.

O'Brien, Sharon. Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice. Oxford UP, 1987.

Rosowski, Susan J., ed. Approaches to Teaching Willa Cather's "My Ántonia". Modern Language Association, 1989.

Squire, Kelsey. "Legacy and Conflict: Willa Cather and the Spirit of the Western University." Great Plains Quarterly, vol. 34 , no. 3, Summer 2014, pp. 239-356.

Urgo, Joseph R. Willa Cather and the Myth of American Migration. U of Illinois P, 1995.

Wilhite, Keith. "Unsettled Worlds: Aesthetic Emplacement in Willa Cather's My Ántonia." Studies in the Novel, vol. 42, no. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 269-286.