8:129 The Critical Tradition:
Course Information and Assignments
Home • Syllabus • WebCT Discussion
Room 208 EPB, 1:05-2:25
Instructor: Florence Boos (florence-boos@uiowa.edu)
Office: 319 English-Philosophy Building
Office hours: most days, informally after
class; Thursdays 2:45-3:45 and Wednesdays by appointment
The course text is the Norton Anthology of Theory
and Criticism,
ed. Vincent B. Leitch, 2001 edition. If you use an earlier edition, it may not
contain the selections assigned later in the course. I will provide handouts
where marked on the syllabus.
Course assignments:
- in class questions and "applications": For each
class period, please read the assignment carefully in advance. You may often
need to reread passages to decipher what you think they mean.
Then prepare at least one question to ask; this may be either
a "real" question, that is, a request for explanation or discussion
of an unclarity, or a class question, one intended to evoke discussion on
an issue.
Please also prepare an "application" where relevant,
that is, a reference to an aspect of a literary work which seems consistent
with something in our texts. For example, the definition of "tragedy" in
Aristotle's Poetics might suggest examples of reversal and recognition
in a novel you have read recently. Alternately one might find parallels to
the critical work in modern texts (for example, the structure of Christine
de Pisan's "A City of Ladies" might suggest Mary McCarthy's The
Group).
Even if we do not have time for your contribution that day,
you can use your questions and applications as part of your weekly posting.
- journal on-line: each week you should prepare a 2/3-one-page
commentary on one of the texts we have read for that week, and post it
on our web page link to WebCT, for a total of 15 postings
a semester. These do not have to be completely current; that is, you can
post entries after the week in which we read the selection--but don't wait
too long! I will read these each week but will not grade them. I will ask
you to print them out at the end of the semester to turn in with your final
paper.
- overview and critique: You are asked to write a six-page
(typed) essay providing an overview of three or more essays which are linked
in theme or approach--for example, three formalist essays, or three essays
on feminism--followed by your evaluation of the merits and/or limitation
of each. A one-page outline or abstract will be due October 13th, and the
paper itself is due October 20th or 21st.
- research essay: This essay, of a minimum of six-pages, should
provide a summary, background material, and critique of a book or other
fairly substantial work of criticism of your choice. It should demonstrate
a knowledge of its historical context and the opinions of some earlier critics;
and the final portion of the paper, of course, should be your own evaluation
of the merits of this approach. For example, you could choose one of Emmanual
Levinas's books, then provide background on his relationship to the holocaust
and how previous writers have categorized his works, and for your conclusion,
reflect on which of his ideas seem to have continued relevance.
The research
essay is essentially a take-home final and will be due
the Tuesday of exam week. Please be prepared to summarize your essay to your
fellow students at our last session; if for some reason you cannot attend
that last session, you may give your presentation the final week of class.
Copyright © 2005 Florence
Boos. All rights reserved.
Last update
August 20, 2005 15:08