Examines a key literary text in relationship to a variety of critical methods, including new criticism, narrative theory; gender theory and feminism; postcolonialism; and psychoanalytical and cognitive approaches to literary study.
Have you ever wondered what reading fiction has to do with the real world?
ENGL
233 explores what the way we read can reveal (or conceal) about fictional worlds and
characters, as well as about others and ourselves. Taking as its primary object of
study Charlotte Bronte's controversial classic Jane Eyre, ENGL 233 demystifies
the terms used in literary studies. Through adopting a wide range of critical "lenses"
- including New Criticism, Narratology, Marxist criticism, gender theory, New Historicism,
postcolonial theory and psychoanalytic criticism - we will investigate the vastly
different ways of interpreting fiction and reflect on the relative advantages/disadvantages
of each critical "lens". Students will also have the opportunity to use these lenses
to critically read the pressing issues of their own era, exploring whether class is
still relevant, the 'us and them' mentality of post-9/11 politics and the danger of
a single story shaping the way we view the world. At the end of the semester, students
will be equipped with a toolkit for reading not only literary works but also today's
world.
| Paper title | Literary Theory From Words to Worldviews |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ENGL233 |
| Subject | English |
| EFTS | 0.1500 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2020 |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $904.05 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $3,954.75 |
- Prerequisite
- One 100-level ENGL paper (excluding ENGL 126, ENGL 128, ENGL 124) or 36 points
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- josie.carter@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
- View more information on the Department of English and Linguistics' website
- Teaching staff
- Coordinator and Lecturer: Dr Josie Carter
- Paper Structure
- This paper consists of two 1-hour lectures each week that provide an overview of a major literary theory and demonstrate an application of the theoretical approach to the primary source, Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. The weekly lectures are complemented by tutorials, which involve group discussion and student activities based on (a) the theory at hand for that week and (b) supplementary reading.
- Teaching Arrangements
- This paper is taught by the Coordinator.
- Textbooks
- Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre (2008 Oxford World's Classics Edition is required).
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms 3rd edition (recommended).
ENGL 233 Course Readings are available online via Blackboard. - Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Scholarship, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- Students completing ENGL 233 will gain:
- A broad knowledge of the major schools and debates of literary criticism and theory
- A working knowledge of the critical vocabulary of the field of literary study
- The ability to critically evaluate different approaches to literary criticism and apply key concepts to their own interpretations of literary texts, both in written form (in critical essays) and in spoken form (in class discussion and tutorials)
- Critical-thinking skills that extend beyond literary critical practice to broader problem-solving domains in contemporary social and political contexts
- Communication skills derived from group work in tutorials and written assessment
- An understanding of the ethical dimension of literary analysis and critical reading, including a greater cultural awareness gleaned from the socio-historical context of the primary and secondary sources
