ENCR861-1 (Schedule
#
305VP)
University of Virginia
Fall 2008
MW 3:30-4:45pm :: Bryan 332
Mr. David Golumbia
Office: 449 New Cabell Hall
Fall 2008 Office Hours: M 12:30p-3:30p
Literary and Critical Theory
This course provides an introductory survey of issues and topics in contemporary literary and critical theory, with particular attention paid to topics that are of current interest to literary scholars. Topics to be covered include structuralism, poststructuralism, feminism, gender studies, queer theory, critical race theory, postcolonialism, cultural studies, and historicism, among others. We will read texts by writers including some or all of Derrida, Spivak, Butler, Foucault, Deleuze & Guattari, Spillers, Althusser, Hall, Bhabha, and Sedgwick, among others. Students will be expected to prepare class exercises and response papers addressing the theoretical readings, and to write a final paper that deploys theoretical material in the service of interpreting literary and/or cultural texts of the student's choice. No prior background in literary or critical theory is assumed, although at least some familiarity with one or more of the perspectives covered will certainly prove helpful.
Texts in Collab
- Louis Althusser, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes toward an Investigation." In Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971. 127-186.
- Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author." In Image-Music-Text. New York: Hill & Wang, 1978. 142-148.
- Judith Butler, "Imitation and Gender Insubordination." In Diana Fuss, ed., Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories. New York: Routledge, 1991. 13-31.
- Barbara Christian, "The Race for Theory." Feminist Studies 14:1 (1988). 67-79.
- Margreta de Grazia and Peter Stallybrass, "The Materiality of the Shakespearian Text." Shakespeare Quarterly 44:3 (Autumn 1993). 255-283.
- Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari, "Rhizomes." In A Thousand Plateus. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987. 3-25.
- Jacques Derrida, "Structure, Sign & Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences." In Writing and Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. 278-294.
- Derrida, "Scribble (Writing-Power)." In Julian Wolfreys, ed. The Derrida Reader: Writing Performances. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. 50-73.
- Frantz Fanon, "The Black Man and Language."In Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967. 17-40.
- Michel Foucault, "What Is an Author?" In Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980. 113-138.
- Foucault, "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History." In Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980. 139-164.
- Fredric Jameson, "Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism." New Left Review 146 (July-August 1984). 53-92.
- Jacques Lacan, "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter.'" In Écrits: The First Complete Edition in English. New York: Norton. 11-48.
- Jean Francois Lyotard, sections 1-5 of The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. 3-17.
- Edward Said, "Introduction." In Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. 1-28.
- Hortense Spillers, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book." diacritics 17:2 (1987). 65-81.
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Three Women's Texts and a Critique of Imperialism." Critical Inquiry 12:1 (Autumn 1985). 243-261.
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Can the Subaltern Speak?" In Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg, eds. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 271-313.
- Peter Stallybrass, "Shakespeare, the Individual, and the Text." In Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson, and Paula A. Treichler, eds. Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge, 1992. 593-612.
Assignments and Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:
- 5-7 pp. papers (2): 20% each (total 40%). Two short papers on theoretical issues raised by the course readings, or on supplementary topics determined by the student in consultation with the instructor.
- Final 12-15 pp. paper: 40%. The final paper will be on a topic of your choosing that relates to the course subject matter. The default will be to write a paper on a literary topic with theoretical writings as methodological guide; you may also write directly on a theoretical topic. Final paper topics must be discussed with the instructor prior to being handed in.
- Participation, including all in-class work, your attendance and participation in discussion and in solo and group projects: 20%.
Policies
- This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success. A significant portion of your grade (20%) depends on your class participation. More than 2 unexcused absences will count against your final course grade. More than 4 unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course, in accordance with College guidelines. Letter grades are not assigned for individual participation activities (presentations, reading responses, etc.); you are assigned a single letter grade for participation at the end of the term.
- No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
- You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week. Wikipedia readings are intended for background only, but their content will often be directly relevant to class discussions.
- All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor Code. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
- Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.
Week-by-Week Syllabus
Week 0. Introduction
- Weds Aug 27. No reading assignment.
Week 1. Authorship
- Mon Sep 1. Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author"
- Weds Sep 3. Michel Foucault, "What Is an Author?"; Wikipedia: Michel Foucault
Week 2. Gender and Sexuality
- Mon Sep 8. Judith Butler, "Imitation and Gender Insubordination"; Wikipedia: Judith Butler
- Weds Sep 10. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Three Women's Texts and a Critique of Imperialism"; Wikipedia: Feminist Theory
Week 3. Ideology
- Mon Sep 15. Louis Althusser, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Toward and Investigation," pp. 127-157; Wikipedia: Louis Althusser
- Weds Sep 17. Althusser, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses," pp. 158-end; Wikipedia: Marxism; Ideology
Week 4. Poststructuralism I
- Mon Sep 22. Jacques Derrida, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences," Wikipedia: Jacques Derrida
- Weds Sep 24. Derrida, "Scribble (Writing-Power)"; Wikipedia: Deconstruction
Week 5.Psychoanalysis
- Mon Sep 29. Jacques Lacan, "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter,'" pp. 11-30; Wikipedia: Jacques Lacan
- Weds Oct 1. Lacan, "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter,'" pp. 30-48; Wikipedia: Psychoanalysis
Week 6. Postcolonialism I
- Mon Oct 6. Frantz Fanon, "The Black Man and Language"; Wikipedia: Frantz Fanon
- Weds Oct 8. Edward Said, "Introduction" to Orientalism; Wikipedia: Postcolonialism. Short Paper 1 due by beginning of class.
Week 7. Reading Period
- Tues Oct 14: NO CLASS; Reading Day
- Thurs Oct 16: NO CLASS; paper preparation and discussions
Week 8. Race
- Mon Oct 20. Hortense Spillers, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: An American Grammar Book"; Wikipedia: Critical Race Theory
- Weds Oct 22. Barbara Christian, "The Race for Theory"; Wikipedia: Cultural Studies
Week 9. Poststructuralism II
Week 10. Postcolonialism II
- Mon Nov 3. Spivak, "Can the Subaltern Speak?" pp 271-291
- Weds Nov 5. Spivak, Can the Subaltern Speak?" pp. 291-end; Wikipedia: Feminism. Short Paper 2 due by beginning of class.
Week 11. Postmodernity
- Mon Nov 10. Jean-Francois Lyotard, first 5 sections of The Postmodern Condition; Wikipedia: Postmodernity
- Weds Nov 12. Fredric Jameson, "Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism"; Wikipedia: Postmodernism
Week 12. Historicism
- Mon Nov 17. de Grazia and Stallybrass, "Materiality of the Shakespearian Text"; Wikipedia: Historical Materialism
- Weds Nov 19. Stallybrass, "Shakespeare, the Individual, and the Text"; Wikipedia: New Historicism
Week 13. Thanksgiving Break
- Tues Nov 25: NO CLASS; paper discussions/preparation
- Thurs Nov 27: NO CLASS; Thanksgiving
Week 14. Final Presentations
Final paper due by the end of exam period, Tues Dec 16. There is no final exam for the course.
Last updated August 27, 2008.