HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism:
Reaching beyond the Standard Model
movement. Doing theory correctly is a matter of
changing the way we think and work.
Instructor: Dr. Dana Van Kooy
Meeting Schedule: MWF 9.05 – 9.55am
Meeting Room: Walker 134
Office Hours: MWF 10.00-11.00am and by
appointment.
This semester we will follow a trajectory that
begins with reading literature as a “work of art”
and subsequently places literature in the wider
contexts of history and geography, until at the
end of the semester, we situate literature, as
many contemporary practitioners do, in a
planetary context. In many ways, this approach
follows the evolution of theory since WWII.
Because theory and criticism are overlapping
discursive practices that link a given literary text
to various reflections on language and forms of
representation as well as to material realities and
ideological constructs, we will be reading texts,
theory, and criticism as particular cases. Ideally,
this will help everyone understand more fully
how individual critical practices are constructed
and practiced.
Course Description:
Sometimes referred to the “theory of almost
everything,” the Standard Model of particle
physics helps scientists classify and theorize
about the interactions of subatomic particles.
While this theory explains many phenomena, it
falls short of explaining everything.
For the purposes of this course about literary
theory, to reach beyond the “Standard Model” is
to realize that every theory has its limitations in
its ability to provide explanations and that the
standard model(s) of theory are perhaps better
understood if we reorganize their components.
This semester we will adopt an approach
inspired by Novalis, a German poet and
philosopher, who once described theories as
“nets.” Just as casting nets is not an end in itself,
so too doing theory is not simply a matter of
adopting a “school” or following a particular
Finally, “theory” derives from the Greek word
for contemplation and speculation, however, it is
also related to spectator: the person who
watches, observes and comments. Literary
theory belies the common assumption that
reading literature is merely a passive act or
leisure activity. Reading literature is fun and
much of its pleasure is derived from discovering
that very little is as straightforward as it initially
seems. While providing readers with interpretive
frameworks, literary theory does not offer easy
solutions to either the big or small questions a
text elicits from the reader. Literary theory is
appropriative; it engages multiple discourses,
associated with disciplines other than literature:
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
including, anthropology, art history, ecology,
feminism, film studies, gender studies, history,
philosophy, politics, psychoanalysis, the hard
sciences and social sciences. It is a theory of
almost everything!
Book List:
Literary Theory: An Anthology, eds. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan (Blackwell, 2004) Second
Edition 01405106964 [LT]
Jonathan Culler, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford UP, 2011) 0199691347
Additional readings will be posted on CANVAS.
Assignments:
1. Précis (2-3 pp.): choose a theoretical essay and write a synopsis and critique of the work.
Due Date: Monday, 8 February 2016. [20%]
2. Essay (8-10 pp.): The final papers will be due on Friday, 11 April 2016. [35%].
3. Oral Presentations: Three times this semester, you will prepare a short formal
presentation about a particular work on the syllabus. Late in the semester, you will work
either alone or in a small group to prepare a presentation to help the class prepare for the
final exam. [5% + 5% + 5% = 15%]
4. Class Participation: Consistent and active participation in class discussion is required.
Attendance is required. In the case of absences or potential absences due to illness or
personal emergencies, please email me as soon as possible. In the event that class
meetings conflict with a religious holiday or observance, again, please consult me and
alternative arrangements will be made. [20%]
5. Final Exam: Paragraph answers: identification and analysis. [15%]
Grade Breakdown:
Précis
Essay
Class Participation 20%
Oral Presentations
Final Exam
Total:
20%
30%
15%
15%
100%
Important Notes (The fine print):
*Your first obligation is to read (with an eye to the accompanying footnotes, if any) and ponder
each assignment. Additionally, you will have several opportunities to demonstrate your
knowledge. Every class period will provide you with ample opportunity to ask questions, make
observations, and contribute to the class discussion. (Do not discount how important this is!!)
*You will be responsible for any discussion you miss, so please befriend a classmate who will
share their notes with you. You have three free absences: this includes illness, ski days, family
visits, interviews, everything. Use them wisely. If you are absent from class more than 3 times,
your final grade will drop 10%. Please talk to me or provide documentation from the Dean
of Students if you incur excessive absences (more than 2 weeks of class).
*Other editions: You may use what you have or purchase other editions. However, there is the
minor issue of coping intelligently with the variations between editions. I have chosen these
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
editions because they tend to have helpful footnotes and other materials that will assist you in
your present and future efforts to understand the text and the period.
*All other texts we read will be made available to you via Canvas.
*Late Paper Policy: The key is communication. If you cannot complete an assignment on time,
you must contact me prior to the due date and then we can make arrangements for an alternative
date, to which you must adhere. I will not accept your essay after this date. All work must be
turned in to pass the course.
Letter Grade
A
AB
B
BC
C
CD
D
F
Percentage
93-100%
87-92%
82-86%
76-81%
70-75%
65-69%
60-64%
59% and below
Grade Points
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0
Rating
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Unsatisfactory
Failure
MTU Learning Goals: http://www.mtu.edu/assessment/program/university-learning-goals/
Focused learning goal for this course – Critical and Creative Thinking: Link to PDF or Canvas link
Tentative Schedule: (subject to emendation)
Week 1
Monday, 11 January – Introduction.
Wednesday, 13 January: Jonathan Culler’s Literary Theory.
Friday, 15 January: Jonathan Culler’s Literary Theory.
The Work of Art
Week 2
Monday, 18 January – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
NO CLASS
Wednesday, 20 January: Introduction: Formalisms LT, pp. 3-6; Cleanth Brooks,
“The Language of Paradox,” LT, pp. 28-39.
Friday, 22 January: T.S. Eliot, “Tradition and the Individual Talent” and The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. CANVAS
Week 3
Monday, 25 January: Selections from Marx: on commodities & fetishism, LT,
665-72 & Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads & other poems. CANVAS
Wednesday, 27 January: Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction. CANVAS
Friday, 29 January: Theodor Adorno, “On Lyric Poetry and Society,” Notes to
Literature, vol. 1, ed. Rolf Tiedemann, trans. Shierry Weber Nicholsen (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1991), pp. 37-54.
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdflibrary/Adorno_LyricPoetryAndSociety.pdf
Week 4
Monday, 1 February: Rivkin and Ryan Introduction to Deconstruction, LT, pp.
257-61, Derrida, LT, pp. 278-32.
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
Wednesday, 3 February: Rivkin and Ryan Introduction to Deconstruction, LT, pp.
257-61, Derrida, LT, pp. 278-32.
Friday, 5 February: Winter Carnival – No Class
Week 5
Monday, 8 February: Shelley, “Triumph of Life.” CANVAS
Wednesday, 10 February: Paul de Man, “Shelley Disfigured,” The Rhetoric of
Romanticism (Columbia University Press, 1984), pp. 93-123.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/deMan_Shelley.pdf
Friday, 12 February: Arthur Bradley, “Shelley Criticism from Deconstruction to
the Present.” CANVAS
Beyond Synchronicity
Week 6
Monday, 15 February: Michel Foucault, “What is an Author?” Précis Due
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Foucault_Author.pdf
Wednesday, 17 February: Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, LT, pp. 9097.
Friday, 19 February: Foucault: Foucault, Selections from Power/Knowledge
CANVAS
Week 7
Monday, 22 February: Shakespeare, The Tempest.
Wednesday, 24 February: Stephen Greenblatt, “Martial Law in the Land of
Cockaigne,” Shakespearean Negotiations: The Circulation of Social Energy in
Renaissance England (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988). CANVAS
Friday, 26 February: Shakespeare & Greenblatt continued.
Week 8
Monday, 29 February: Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Mary Favret, “Everyday War,” ELH (Fall, 2005): 605-33. CANVAS
Wednesday, 2 March: Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Mary Favret, “Everyday War,” ELH (Fall, 2005): 605-33.
Friday, 4 March: Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Mary Favret, “Everyday War,” ELH (Fall, 2005): 605-33.
Week 9
Monday, 7 March: SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
Wednesday, 9 March: SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
Friday, 11 March: SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
In & Out of Place
Week 10
Monday, 14 March: Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution:
An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” Theatre Journal, Vol. 40,
No. 4. (Dec, 1988) CANVAS [edited version in LT, pp. 900-912].
Wednesday, 16 March: Joseph Roach, Introduction to Cities of the Dead: CircumAtlantic Performance. CANVAS
Friday, 18 March: Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life, CANVAS
LT, 1247-57.
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
Week 11
Monday, 21 March: Isaac Bickerstaff, The Padlock (1768). CANVAS
Wednesday, 23 March: George Colman the Younger, The Africans; or, War,
Love, Duty (1808). CANVAS
Friday, 25 March: George Colman the Younger, The Africans; or, War, Love,
Duty (1808) & Julie A. Carlson, “New Lows in Eighteenth-Century Theater: The
Rise of Mungo,” ERR 18.2 (April 2007): 139-147. CANVAS
Planetary Perspectives: Science, Ecocriticism & the Anthropocene:
Week 12
Monday, 28 March: Edmund Burke, Selections from A Philosophical Enquiry
into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful (1757) CANVAS
PPT: Paintings
Wednesday, 30 March: Timothy Morton, Selections from The Ecological Thought
CANVAS
Friday, 1 April: Timothy Morton, Selections from The Ecological Thought
CANVAS
Week 13
Monday, 4 April: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Wednesday, 6 April: Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science,
Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the late Twentieth Century” CANVAS
Friday, 8 April: Shelley and Haraway.
Week 14
Monday, 11 April: John Clare’s poetry, selections. Dipesh Chakabarty, “Climate
& Capital: On Cojoined Histories.” CANVAS
Final Essay Due
Wednesday, 13 April: Bruno Latour, “Agency at the Time of the Anthropocene.”
CANVAS
Friday, 15 April: D.G. Irvine and Mina Gorj, “John Clare in the Anthropocene”
CANVAS
Week 15
Monday, 18 April: Reflect & Review
Wednesday, 20 April: Reflect & Review
Friday, 22 April: Reflect & Review
Last Day of Class
Final: TBA
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Cell phones: Please turn off your cell when you come into class. I will ask you to leave the
classroom if I see you using your phone or other forms of technology inappropriately.
University Policies
Academic Integrity & Plagiarism:
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/usenate/policies/p109-1.htm
Academic regulations and procedures are governed by University policy. Academic misconduct
cases will be handled in accordance the University's policies.
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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If you are ever in doubt about intellectual property or whether or not something would be
considered plagiarism, please ask me before you turn in your work. If I want you to use outside
sources for your ideas, I will be happy to direct you to the resources you should use. Generally, I
discourage the use of outside sources and internet resources – especially Wikipedia. We will discuss
this throughout the term.
Assessment:
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/usenate/policies/p312-1.htm
Student work products (exams, essays, projects, etc.) may be used for the purposes of university,
program, or course assessment. All work used for assessment purposes will not include any
individual student identification.
Disability Services:
http://www.mtu.edu/deanofstudents/students/disability/
If you have a disability that could affect your performance in any class or that requires an
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact your instructor and
Disability Services at 487-1494 as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
The Office of Institutional Equity:
http://www.mtu.edu/equity
The Office of Institutional Equity has asked that you be made aware of the following:
Michigan Technological University complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding
discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Michigan Tech has a policy of affording equal opportunity to all of its employees, students,
applicants for employment, and applicants for admission without regard to race, religion, color,
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marital status, disabled veteran status, veteran status, or disability.
Veterans / Military
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Veterans and active duty military personnel with special circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments,
drill requirements, disabilities) are welcomed and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if
possible, to their instructor(s).
Religious holidays & Attendance:
Michigan Tech permits students to be excused from class on holidays observed by their religious
faith. Students who wish to be absent for a religious holiday are responsible for making
arrangements in advance with their instructors to make up class work and exams. Instructors may
expect a reasonable limit to the number of absences requested.
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
http://www.mtu.edu/deanofstudents/academic-policies/attendance/
Equal Opportunity, Discrimination, or Harassment Statement:
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/boc/policy/ch5/
For other concerns about discrimination, you may contact your advisor, Chair/Dean of your academic unit, Dean of
Students Office at 487-2212 or The Office of Institutional Equity at 487-3310.
Basic Paper Guidelines:
Format: There is no need for a cover sheet. At the top of the page, justified either right or left, your name, class ,
the date, and my name (which might help if the paper gets misplaced). For example:
Will Smith
HU 3513: Shakespeare
12 January 2015
Van Kooy
Also, 3 pages means 3 full pages, not 2 ½ pages.
Title: Give your essay a title that reflects the content of the paper. Make it intriguing. You can use a quote and/or
the title of the work and modify it with a particular idea using a colon or semi-colon. For example, “Don Juan: The
Perspective of Satire,” “‘Soft Humanity Put On’: The Poetry and Politics of Sociality 1798-1818,” “Songs from the
Woods; or, Outlaw Lyrics,” “Lisping Sedition: Poems, Endymion, and the Poetics of Dissent.” Do not underline or
place quotes around your title. It should be centered at the top of the page; simply double space and center after your
name, class, date, my name.
Titles of Texts: Italicize titles of books, plays, and movies.
Page numbering: Number each page at the top right-hand corner with your last name. For example: Smith 2. Do
not place a number on the first page.
Fonts, and margins: Use standard margins: 1” all around. Please use Times Roman, since other options tend to be
more difficult to read. Also, font size 12.
Quotations: Each time you cite a passage you will need to provide line numbers for poetry, page numbers for prose,
or act/scene/line numbers for drama: (ll. 5-9), (25), (I.ii.22-39). Also, double space your essay, including block
quotes, which you need to indent (usually two tabs). If you quote less than three lines of a text, include it within
your prose. For example: Coleridge begins “The Dungeon” with these lines: “And this place our forefathers made
for man! / This is the process of our love and wisdom,/ To each poor brother who offends against us” (ll. 1-3). The
slash marks line breaks in poetry. If you quote more than three lines, you need to block quote. For example:
In “Lines Written on 29 May, the Anniversary of Charles’s Restoration,” Keats aligns himself with the early
English republican tradition:
Infatuate Britons, will you still proclaim
His memory, your direst, foulest shame,
Nor patriots revere?
Ah! When I hear each traitorous lying bell,
’Tis gallant Sydney’s, Russell’s, Vane’s sand knell
That pains my wounded ear. (ll. 1-6)
Note #1: poetry is quoted exactly as it appears on the page. With prose, type out the quote without any imposed line
breaks.
Note #2: With block quotes, do not use quotation marks and include all punctuation. When you integrate a quote
within your prose, you use quotation marks and you place a period after the line/page number(s).
Note #3: In a literature class, textual support is central to your argument. But do not over-use quotations. As a
general rule, you should introduce your quote and explain it fully. The explanation should be roughly twice as long
as the quotation. Use quotations to make your points; do not let them “speak” for you. There should be a clear
reason why you are using a specific quotation.
Define your terms: If the focus of your argument is a term such as comedy, satire, etc., you need to define it. Many
words have multiple meanings and in specific contexts take on different meanings. To make your paper clearer, you
must define these terms and delineate them precisely. Often, you will need to differentiate between what you mean
and how a specific writer uses and contextualizes this word or idea.
HU 3517: Literary Theory and Criticism: Reaching beyond the Standard Model
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Spring 2016
Critical present: When you write an essay, more often than not, you will use the present tense. Critical writing
takes place in the present tense because you are making an argument about a given text in the context of the present
moment. Regardless of the writer or when they wrote, your argument about these writers and their work is taking
place now. Employ the past tense to set-up the historical context.
Colloquialisms, etc.: Writing is different than speaking. Sometimes it is helpful to try to speak/write your draft, but
as you edit your writing, try to make your writing as direct and clear as possible. Using large words often results in
their mis-use. Be sure of your meaning; use your dictionary!! Too often, the use of jargon is pretentious and
distracts your reader from your argument.
Plot summary: Avoid plot summary. If you summarize, use it to set up a quote or to make a transition from one
point to another. Plot summary is not an argument.
Proofreading: The best way to proofread is to print off a copy of your essay and either read it out loud to yourself
or to a friend.
Basic Problems:
Passive Voice: Denotes a verb form or voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject is the object of the action
or the effect of the verb. For example: They were impressed by his manner. “Were impressed” is passive. Make
sure you are specific about the identity of the subject and what the subject is doing.
Run-On Sentences: Usually with a run-on sentence, the thought is continued without a formal break such as a semicolon or a period. For example: Nature does not possess sterile beauty, admirable but remote, it has beauty that is
alive and interfacing with humanity. If the comma between remote and it were changed to a semi-colon this would
not be a run-on sentence.
Semi-Colons: Use a semicolon between independent clauses not linked by a conjunction. Use semicolons between
items in a series when the items contain commas (Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California)
Colons: The colon is used between two parts of a sentence when the first part creates a sense of anticipation about
what follows in the second. Use a colon to introduce a list, an elaboration of what was just said, or the formal
expression of a rule or principle. Leave only one space after a colon, not two.
Prepositions: Undoubtedly, prepositions are the most complex aspect of any language. Although prepositions are
important, too often they are over-used. In general, if you have more than one prepositional clause in a sentence,
your meaning will be lost. The easiest way to improve your writing is to limit your use of prepositional phrases.
This will make your writing more effective.
Commas: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor , or , yet , or so) joining independent
clauses in a sentence. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and clauses in a series. Use a comma between
coordinate adjectives – that is, adjectives that separately modify the same noun: The new regime imposed harsh,
repressive laws. (The adjectives harsh and repressive modify laws).
Numbers: In general, write out the number: five, for example. If you are referring to a page number, use numerals.
When referencing a particular century, spell it out in lowercase letters: the twentieth century. Hyphenate centuries
when they are used as adjectives before nouns: eighteenth-century thought or nineteenth- and twentieth-century
literature. Decades are usually written out without capitalization (the nineties) but it is acceptable to express them in
figures (the 1990s, the ’60s). If you are referring to eras: BCE (before the common era) and CE (common era)
follow the number: 13 BCE and 34 CE. Increasingly, it is common practice to use these designations to replace BC
and AD.