ENG 2010: Interpreting Texts: Literary Reading and Critical Practice

Abstract

This “gateway” course to the English major is an introduction to critical issues in the discipline of literary studies. It is not, strictly speaking, an introduction to the history of literary criticism or a survey of different theoretical methods, though of course we will develop an awareness of both throughout the term. Our mandate instead is to explore what it means to read; to understand what a text “is” and how it “works”; and to generate interpretive approaches adequate to the sophisticated critical and theoretical concerns such questions imply. Because these topics are relevant to a wide range of majors within the humanities, students from different academic backgrounds are welcome to enroll. Readings will be similarly diverse: philosophy and literary criticism;, prose poetry, and drama from different times and places; film, visual art, or architecture; music, new media, or digital media; and perhaps also one or more excursions within New York City. Requirements: informed class participation, ungraded response papers, regular postings to an online discussion forum, a short critical essay, and a final project. This course can be used to fulfill either the 1st or 2nd semester of the two-semester literature requirement. This course is a requirement for the English major. (Note: This course is designed for English majors and non-majors with a strong background in literature.)