ENGL 250 | Introduction to Literary and Critical Theory

Literary and critical theory asks big questions about literature, culture, and society. How are our identities shaped by race, class, gender, and sexuality? What is the nature of language and meaning? How can culture contribute to social change or reinforce the status quo? In its quest to solve these fundamental problems, critical theory presents surprising and often controversial perspectives on the world. This course will provide an introduction to literary and critical theory by inviting students to read major texts by groundbreaking philosophers, critics, and social thinkers alongside fictional works including Henry James's classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. Students will encounter in these theories a strange cast of characters ranging from cyborgs and revolutionaries to paranoids and prisoners. At the same time, students in this class will be challenged to rethink their basic assumptions about themselves, their society, and their relationship to literature and culture.