Theory & Criticism
ENG382 Professor
Mead
Spring 2021
An explanation of this class’s form is in order. The subject of literary theory is massively
broad and often (but not always) unfathomably deep. It is akin to studying how people react to,
say, people. In fact it is studying how
people react to one of the most common activities of people, which is
writing. There are a number of ways this
course could go. For example, we could
study formalism, structuralism, new criticism, psychoanalytical theory, Marxist
criticism, feminist criticism—the list goes on and on. Then the students would be familiar with the
general modes of thought of various schools of theory. This is a strong model with a time-honored
history. Typical assignments would then
be to practice these theories on literary texts. But to what end? How would you use this knowledge? How
would this knowledge change you, as a reader of texts and perhaps a reader of
organizations, events, or other people?
Perhaps the best thing a course in that Literary theory can
do for us is to make us more aware of who we are, what a text is, and how we
process the experience of reading a text and bringing that text into the
world.* So this is my plan: to present you with a text. To subsequently present you with two serious
responses to the same text. To ask you
what you think is important in the text to the two critics. To ask you what you think is important to the
text (hoping you will all have different answers). To present you with four or
five contemporary schools of reading, for your consideration of the text. And
finally to require you to write two interpretive essays about the text that
organize themselves around or in reputation of differing modes in
inquiry (not just different ideas or parts of the text).
My thinking here is to make literary theory authentic
to your reading, interpreting, and writing about Othello. To do that we will work from the inside
out. What does that mean? Well, the opposite, working from the outside
in, might look like reading the play, choosing a theory, and applying the theory
to the play—sort of like finding a nice piece of wood and painting it. The problem with “outside in” is that it
never really gets to the “in”; it stays on the surface (plot, narrative, characters)
of the text. Consider finding this same
piece of wood and first asking yourself, “what to me is special or definitive about
this piece?” Maybe it has an interesting
grain; maybe it smells pleasantly; maybe it is particularly hard and
close-grained, or soft and wide-grained.
Maybe the kind of tree it come from is important to you. Maybe you want to think about its shape and
wonder what natural forces got it that way.
Maybe you want to build a chair and are thinking about how this piece
would be used. If you were to reshape
the piece of wood, how important would it be to you to preserve its native
grain, color, texture, place or origin, etc.?
What processes could you enlist to bring out the natural colors? Was this wood or the tree it came from
important to a particular group of people?
How? Why? So our process will be
to study Othello, cognizant of its sources, history, language, audience,
associations; its place in our world; its connections to our current
concerns. And then to test a sample, the
way a mineralogist might test moon dust, as a way of asking it questions and
inferring some answers. The sample will
be brief passages which we will subject to various theoretical approaches to
see what they will yield.
Some critical schools are responses to earlier schools of
thought; some exist to create social change; some delve deeply into historical,
social, and scientific methods and materials.
You will probably notice some connections between different
theories: feminist and queer,
materialist and postcolonial, ecocritical and posthumanist.
* When I use read to denominate the fullest sense of
the word: first, to decode the letters and words on the page, then to study the
language, its context, meaning, connotations; to consider comparatively other
works; to interpret and to analyze.
Participation in this class is vital; you cannot
receive a sterling grade without regular, informed, and considered interaction
with the instructor and your classmates.
20% of final grade.
Presentations are an important way to demonstrate
your learning to the class. Each student
will have the opportunity to present a summary and explanation of the secondary
texts lists in the syllabus. 20% of
final grade.
Papers are the final piece that will show your
learning. You must write two
interpretive papers on some aspect of Othello. Each must demonstrate the following: a clear thesis supported by analysis of the
text; an articulated methodology; serious consideration and integration of at
least one school of theory (you may not use the same school(s) in both papers);
a clear conclusion of what has been gained by use of that theory relative to
use of other theories. Each paper is worth 30% of your final grade. You may submit these papers at any time
during the semester. I strongly
advise you not to do so before having worked through the beginning of at least
two or three etexts we’re using in the class.
A paper submitted prior to March 31st may be re-submitted
with substantial revision** for a new grade once. The rewrite must be submitted within two weeks
of your receiving it back from the instructor.
Papers may be no longer than 7 pages (exclusive of works cited and
notes), so be sure to cut all the verbiage!*** I suggest you write one paper well
before 3/31 (so you can rewrite before April) and the second paper at the end
of the semester, to take advantage of the student presentations and workshops. MLA format.
January
20 W Introduction. Syllabus. Very, very brief history of
criticism.
25 M Othello. Have whole play read. 3 critical questions
about I.i.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4Kpj1PFKM
27 W G. K. Hunter 275-288.
February
1
1 M Michael
Neill 314-337.
3 W What kinds of questions do we want to
ask?
8 M Shakespeare &
Feminist Theory 1-74
10 W Shakespeare & Feminist Theory
1-74
15 M No Classes
17 W Shakespeare & Queer Theory
1-55
22 M Shakespeare & Queer Theory
1-55
24 W Shakespeare & Cultural Materialist
Theory 1-66
March
1 M Shakespeare
& Cultural Materialist Theory 1-66
3 W Shakespeare
& Postcolonial Theory 1-78
8 M Shakespeare
& Postcolonial Theory 1-78
10 W Shakespeare
& Ecocritical Theory 1-93
15 M Shakespeare & Ecocritical Theory
1-93
17 W Shakespeare & Posthumanist
Theory 1-54
22 M Shakespeare & Posthumanist
Theory 1-54
24 W Feminist Theory Presentation
29 M Queer Theory Presentation
31 M Cultural
Materialist Theory Presentation
April
5 M No
Classes
7 W Postcolonial Theory Presentation
12 M Ecocritical Theory Presentation
14 W Posthumanist Theory
Presentation
19 M Psychoanalytic Theory (extra
credit)
21 W Workshop
26 M Workshop
28 W Your Semester in Review
**Substantial revision does not mean merely cleaning up the
grammar, spelling, and usage. Or “sticking things in.” It implies modifying the
thesis, methodology, and use of secondary sources.
***In my experience, almost all writing can be shortened by at
least 30-50% without losing any meaning.
Most writing has almost twice the necessary words. (I just cut the
previous sentence by a half)
Our Virtual Classroom Environment: You have asked to be challenged by
deciding to pursue a college degree. You
may not have imagined what those challenges would look like or how much time
and energy you will need to put into meeting those challenges. Please remember that I will always be asking
you for your best, asking you to achieve things you have not achieved before,
to manage skills you may not have been adept at before. Why else take a class? But please understand that behind my
expectations, impelling them, is my desire that you benefit deeply from our
collegial inquiry, in preparation for profession life.
Please be in attendance a few minutes before class
time. Have your texts, a notebook, and
writing tools with you. Please keep your
video on throughout, and your audio on whenever appropriate, which is most of
the time.
The free pursuit of
knowledge is your right, as you are a member of this Benedictine community.
Therefore, you can expect at college an environment free of harassment,
censorship, intimidation, or retaliation.
This also means that if my teaching strategies give you cause for
discomfort or confusion, please speak to me.
I promise to listen respectfully and to strive to come to a mutually
agreed-upon response.
Academic Honesty & Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty—in the form of intentional
plagiarism (the
representation of the work of others as your own) or in the form of unintentional plagiarism (improper
citation of sources)—will not be tolerated in this class. Please see the University’s policy on
plagiarism as detailed in the Student Handbook for an official statement
regarding this serious issue.
If you ever panic about an assignment, please do contact
your instructor rather than resorting to actions that might take you into the
realm of academic dishonesty. I will be
happy to clarify an assignment and its objectives, or to help you
brainstorm. Even if you have to turn in
an assignment late, that is far better than risking the consequences of
academic dishonesty. If you are ever
unsure of whether a citation is needed, I am happy to talk to you about this,
as well. Be sure to see me about this BEFORE the assignment is due.
You must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade
for the class.
Keep copies of all work submitted. Keep copies of enough drafts of each paper so
that, if I suspect your work is not original, you can show me the growth of
your idea through the drafts, and shame me into silence. Which I would love.
More than four absences (defined as not attending or
attending but neither speaking nor participating) will seriously deflate your participation
grade.
Office Hours as this class is online, you can either
turn up early before our class meetings or stay after the meetings to
chat. If You need more time or if these
times are not good for you, we can arrange another time to zoom.
Required text:
Shakespeare, William. Othello,
Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed.
ISBN 9780393264227
eTexts available through O’Grady Library:
Shakespeare & Posthumanist Theory - https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1p2cpl/CP71339059890001451
Shakespeare &
Cultural Materialist Theory - https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1p2cpl/CP71339029140001451
Unhistorical Shakespeare : Queer theory in Shakespeare- https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1n9ad1a/TN_cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780230614574
Shakespeare & Postcolonial Theory -https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1p2cpl/CP71340180880001451
Shakespeare & Ecocritical Theory - https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1p2cpl/CP71340229930001451
Shakespeare & Feminist Theory - https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1p2cpl/CP71339328810001451
Optional: Brown, Carolyn E.
Shakespeare & Psychoanalytic Theory.
Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 2015.
ISBN ePub 978-1-4742-1612-8.
Finally, I’d like to encourage you all to work together. Not only on papers, but also on readings,
presentations, and especially class conversations. Ideally, I would find you all talking about
the class and texts before I even get online in the Zoom. I would like to have a hard time getting
through my class plan because you all have your own intellectual agendas. Ideally, I would not talk as often as you
talk to and respond to one another.
