30.463 Contemporary Critical Theory
Fall 2015
Instructor:
Dr. Reinhold Kramer
109 Clark Hall
727-7344
kramer@brandonu.ca
Office hours: 2:40-3:30 p.m. (Mon., Wed., Thur.)
Home page: http://people.brandonu.ca/kramer/
(or google “Reinhold Kramer”)
Course Description:
An introduction to recent literary theories, including cognitive,
structuralist, post-structuralist, psychoanalytic, feminist, gay, materialist,
and evolutionary approaches. These theories will be examined in light of
their aims, general principles, strengths, weaknesses, and critical
statements by representative theorists. Although the History of Literary
Criticism is recommended as an introduction to Contemporary Critical
Theory, it is not a prerequisite.
Assignments: 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Class Participation
Reading Test (on entire novel)
Seminar presentation
Mid-term Test
Research Paper (12-14 pages)
Final Exam
10%
24 September
5%
various; choose by 17 Sept. 10%
20 October
15%
due 8 December
20%
18 December, 2-4 p.m.
40%
Note: There may be penalties for lateness, depending upon circumstances. Reading tests cannot be
postponed, and missed tests cannot be rewritten without a doctor’s note or other documentation. Cite all
your sources – assignments containing plagiarism will be graded “0” and will result in disciplinary action.
See BU General Calendar 4.2.2 “Academic Integrity.” No cell phones in class.
For the very shy: in place of “class participation” you may hand in, 5 times during the course, short (1page, single-spaced, typed) analyses, not paraphrases, of the readings under discussion that day. These
commentaries must be handed in before we discuss the readings in class, and are worth 2% each. No
commentaries will be accepted after class discussions for any reason.
Students with disabilities who require accommodation should register with the Disability Services
Coordinator. Some students may find readings and/or discussions of controversial matters troubling. If
so, contact the instructor immediately for alternative assignments or an alternative course.
Grading:
Outstanding
A+ 90 & up
A 84-89
A- 80-83
Good
B+ 77-79
B 74-76
B- 70-73
Satisfactory
C+ 67-69
C 64-66
C- 60-63
Weak
D 50-59
Inadequate
F 0-49
Texts:
Leitch, Vincent B. et. al. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Norton. 2nd ed.
Vanderhaeghe, Guy. The Englishman’s Boy. McClelland. (*Read by 24 Sept.)
Tentative Schedule:
Sept. 10
Introduction to Semiology
Components of the Speech Act
Jakobson, fr Linguistics and Poetics, 1144-52
15
17, 22
24
29
Oct. 1
6
Oct. 8
13, 15
20
22
27
Mar. 29
3
Psychoanalysis
Freud, “The Material & Sources of Dreams,” “The Dream-Work,” The Interpretation of
Dreams 814-21
Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa,” 1942-59
Decide on theorist for seminar presentation
Lacan, “The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in
Psychoanalytic Experience,” 1163-9
Reading Test
Vanderhaeghe, The Englishman’s Boy
Slavoj Žižek, Enjoy Your Symptom! (Library Reserve BF109.L28Z59)
“Why Does a Letter Always Arrive at Its Destination?” 3-12
“Why is Every Act a Repetition?” 96-99, 102-5
Structuralism
de Saussure, “The Object of Linguistics,” “Nature of the Linguistic Sign,” Course in
General Linguistics, 850-6
Jakobson, “The Metaphoric & Metonymic Poles,” Two Aspects of Language & Two Types
of Aphasic Disturbances, 1152-6
Todorov, “Structural Analysis of Narrative,” 2023-30
Barthes, “Death of the Author,” “Photography & Electoral Appeal,” Mythologies, 1320-6
The Englishman’s Boy
Austin, “Performative Utterances,” 1289-1301
Post-Structuralism
Derrida, “Exergue” & “The Exorbitant,” Of Grammatology, 1688-97
Mid-term Test
Foucault, “The Carceral,” Discipline & Punish, 1490-1502
Baudrillard, from The Precession of Simulacra, 1556-66
Reception and Cognitive Theories
Iser, “Interaction between Text & Reader,” 1524-32
Lisa Zunshine, Why We Read Fiction (Library Reserve PN3331. Z86)
“Attributing Minds,” 3-10, 16-22
“Tracking Minds,” 47-54
Grodal, Embodied Visions 145-7, 150, 152-5, 158-65, 271-8
(Library Reserve PN1995. G6886 2009)
Nov. 5
10
12
17
19
24
26
Dec. 1
3
8
Dec. 18
Feminist, Gay, and Queer Theories
De Beauvoir, “Myth & Reality,” The Second Sex, 1265-73
Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 2084-95
Haraway, “A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, & Socialist-Feminism in the
1980s,” 2190-2220
Butler, “Subversive Bodily Acts,” Gender Trouble, 2540-53
Evolutionary Theory
Robert Storey, Mimesis & the Human Animal (Library Reserve PN56.M536S76)
“‘I Am I Because My Little Dog Knows Me’: Of Apes & Essences,” 3-17
“‘What Is Art For?’ Narrative & the Ludic Reader,” 101-14
Brian Boyd, On the Origin of Stories (Library Reserve PN3451. B69 2009)
“Fiction as Adaptation,” 188-208
cooperation in The Odyssey, 289-96
Robert Storey, Mimesis & the Human Animal
“Comedy & the Relaxed Open-Mouth Display,” 153-62
“Tragedy: The Ape Gets Serious,” 131-9, 150-51
Marxism/Materialism
Marx, “The Fetishism of Commodities,” Capital, 663-71
Jameson, “Postmodernism & Consumer Society,” 1846-60
Bourdieu, from Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, 1664-70
Bakhtin, “Discourse in the Novel,” 1076-81
Research Paper due
Review
Final Exam, 2-4 p.m.
Seminar Presentation
Choose a theorist from among the following:
Cixous, Lacan, Todorov, Barthes, Austin, Foucault, Baudrillard, Iser, Zunshine, Grodal,
Mulvey, Haraway, Butler, Storey, Boyd, Jameson
Let me know your choice by 17 Sept. (first-come, first-choice)
You will present on whatever day we get to the theorist (the schedule is somewhat tentative)
Length: 5-10 minutes (prepare slightly more material than needed;
plan where to cut to meet the time limit)
Topic: --explain the major points that the theorist makes in his or her article
--explain how the theorist’s work fits into a larger paradigm (e.g. post-structuralism)
--give a few strengths & weaknesses of the theorist’s approach
--no biographies, please
--use lecture style (don’t read your paper); you’re welcome to use overheads and/or PowerPoint
Research: --use the syllabus article and at least 2 articles or (20p) book chapters by the theorist
--use at least 3 articles about the theorist and his or her work
--at the presentation, give me a sheet of your references & of your main points
--you are welcome to use the seminar presentation as a partial basis of your research paper