A&H 136 Introduction to Literary Studies

Content

The course is an introduction into practical criticism and literary interpretation. It explores some basic issues of literary study, starting from the questions: What is literature, and: Why does it make sense to read and study it? The course provides students with basic knowledge of formal properties of literary text and makes them aware of a constructed character of literature.

Course schedule follows the classic Aristotelian division into three major genres (here represented by short fiction, poetry and drama), being supplemented by the contemporary creative non-fiction. One of final topics discussed is major differences between verbal and visual narration.

Considerable attention will be paid to students’ writing and presentation skills. Students analyse texts and write both short critical paragraphs and longer essays on aspects of literary analysis, and learn to use primary and secondary sources to support their argumentation. In this way they also learn in practice to apply MLA conventions for documenting sources.

Instructor

Dr. Ewa Tak-Ignaczak

Track

Literary Studies

Period

Spring / 2009

Course Material

• Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2007.  ISBN: 0-13-173278-1

• Reader (Workspaces)

Required for

This course is an alternative requirement for the following courses:

• A&H 236 The Rise of the Novel
• A&H 237 Life and Travel Writing
• A&H 238 The Politics of Poetry
• A&H 336 Critical Perspectives on Literary Meaning
• A&H 337 Film and Text
• SSC 334 Advanced Cultural Studies