E491 Traditions of English Literary Criticism Syllabus, Fall 2007

SYLLABUS FOR E491 TRADITIONS OF ENGLISH LITERARY CRITICISM
CSU FULLERTON, FALL 2007

*2023 Note. Most links have been removed from this archival copy of the syllabus.

COURSE INFORMATION. English 491, Course Code 13102. Thurs. 7:00 – 9:45 p.m., Humanities 226. Office hours: Thurs. 6:00 – 6:50 p.m. in University Hall (UH) 329. Email: e491_at_ajdrake.com. From the Catalog: “(Covers) the major English critics, from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 20th century, in relationship to the classical theories of criticism. Units (3).” Prerequisite: ENGL 300 or equivalent. For graduates in English, E491 is part of the Core Courses section, classified under “Analysis of Discourse” along with E492 and 579T. Students who need special accommodations should contact the Disabled Student Services Office in UH 101 or call (714) 278-3117.

REQUIRED TEXTS AT TITAN CAMPUS BOOKSTORE

Leitch, Vincent B., ed. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: Norton, 2001. ISBN 0-393-97429-4.

COURSE RATIONALE AND ACTIVITIES

FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES. This course will cover texts by authors concerned with literary theory and with cultural theory and philosophy insofar as they pertain to the study of literature. The title of the course is “Traditions of English Literary Criticism,” but we will broaden our coverage so that we can understand the English and American criticism we study in the context of the wide-ranging philosophical tradition from which it emerged. For that reason, we will begin with Plato and Aristotle, and move on to key authors from the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Continental Romanticism. Also assigned will be key authors from British Romanticism, the Victorian Period, and immediate precursors of today’s criticism and theory such as linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and proto-deconstructive, anti-systemic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Any survey should help you build your knowledge of the periods, authors, and movements studied. This one also aims to help you start an ongoing conversation with difficult but rewarding authors whose work might broaden your understanding of literature.

ACTIVITIES. In class, there will be a mix of lectures, student presentations, whole-class and smaller-group discussion, occasional quizzes, an essay, and a final exam. I encourage questions and comments—class sessions improve when students take an active part. Outside class, do the assigned readings before the relevant discussion dates, complete your journal sets as outlined below, start planning and drafting your essay early, and work on your presentation drafts. In literary studies, the aim is to read and discuss actively and thereby to develop your own voice in response to the texts you read. Insightful interpretation and the ability to make compelling connections are central goals. The essay, discussions, presentations, and journal-keeping should combine to help you work towards these goals.

HOW YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE EVALUATED

COURSE POLICIES. Please review the course policies page early in the semester since it addresses matters such as attendance, incompletes and withdrawal, late or missing work, and academic integrity.

PRESENTATIONS REQUIREMENT. Students will sign up for two 5-minute in-class presentations on assigned authors of their choosing (if possible). I will provide presenters with specific questions from the online journal questions and will post a schedule on the Presentations page. Each session will feature one or more presentations. Required: At least one week before you present, contact me to discuss your ideas. (20%)

JOURNALS REQUIREMENT. Responses to a choice of questions on each author. Due by email anytime during class day Week 5, Week 11, and Final Exam Day. (30%)

PAPER REQUIREMENT. By November 15th (Week 13), a one-paragraph description addressing the topic and argument of the projected paper will be due by email. (Full rough drafts are also encouraged.) Not providing this description on time may affect the final draft grade. Please read the term paper instructions carefully since they contain the prompt, some possible topics, and advance draft comments. Final draft (5-7 pages; graduates 10-15 pages) due by exam day or as specified towards the bottom of the syllabus page. Follow MLA guidelines. CSUF academic integrity policies apply. (30%)

FINAL EXAM REQUIREMENT. The exam will consist of substantive id passages, mix-and-match questions (match phrase or concept x to author/text y), and short questions requiring a few paragraphs in response. There will be more choices than required responses. Books and notes allowed for all sections. No laptops. Exam date: see below. (20%)

EMAILING ASSIGNMENTS TO E491_AT_AJDRAKE.COM. Email journals, presentations, and term paper as attachments. Don’t send more than one document in the same email. Label subject lines appropriately: “E491 Journal 1, Jane Doe” etc. You can paste journal sets into a regular email or send them as an attachment. (Journal “sets” include responses to questions about several authors; do not send entries on each author separately; responses should be combined into one document.) Contact me if you don’t receive prompt email confirmation.

QUESTIONS FOR JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS

*2023 Note. Visitors may download the following questions in PDF format: E491 COMBINED 2003-2007.

SCHEDULE: WORKS DISCUSSED ON DATES INDICATED

WEEK 1

08/23. Introduction to Course and to Wiki Features.

WEEK 2

08/30. Gorgias of Leontini, Plato. Gorgias of Leontini, Plato. Gorgias’ “Encomium of Helen” (29-33). From Plato’s Republic Books II, III, VII, X (49-81), Phaedrus (81-86).

WEEK 3

09/06. Aristotle and Horace. Aristotle’s Poetics (86-117). Horace’s Ars Poetica (121-35).

WEEK 4

09/13. Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Christine de Pizan. From Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine (185-92) and The Trinity (192-96). From Aquinas’ Summa Theologica (240-46). From Dante’s Il Convivio (246-50) and “The Letter to Can Grande” (251-52). From De Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies (263-70).

WEEK 5

09/20. Joachim du Bellay, Giacopo Mazzoni. Du Bellay’s Defence and Illustration of the French Language (279-90). From Mazzoni’s On the Defense of the Comedy of Dante (299-323). Journal Set 1 Due by Email.

WEEK 6

09/27. Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson. Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism” (438-58). Johnson’s The Rambler, No. 4 “On Fiction” (458-66); from Rasselas (466-68); “Preface to Shakespeare” (468-80).

WEEK 7

10/04. Immanuel Kant. From Critique of Judgment Book I: “Analytic of the Beautiful” (499-518); from Book II: “Analytic of the Sublime” (519-36).

WEEK 8

10/11. Friedrich von Schiller, Georg Hegel. From von Schiller’s On the Aesthetic Education of Man, Letters 2, 6, 9 (571-82). Hegel’s “Master-Slave Dialectic” from The Phenomenology of Mind (626-36); “Introduction” from Lectures on Fine Art (636-45).

WEEK 9

10/18. William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats. Wordsworth’s “Preface to Lyrical Ballads, 1802” (645-68). From Coleridge’s The Statesman’s Manual (668-74); from Biographia Literaria (674-82). Keats’ Selected Letters (I will provide texts online.)

WEEK 10

10/25. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. From Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (759-67); from The German Ideology (767-69); from The Communist Manifesto (769-73); from Grundrisse (773-74); from “Preface to A Contribution…” (774-76); from Capital, Vol. 1, Ch. 1 “Commodities” (776-83).

WEEK 11

11/01. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe. From Emerson’s The American Scholar (717-21); “The Poet” (724-39). Poe’s “The Philosophy of Composition” (739-50). Journal Set 2 Due by Email.

WEEK 12

11/08. Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé. From Baudelaire’s The Painter of Modern Life (789-802). Mallarmé’s “Crisis in Poetry” (841-51).

WEEK 13

11/15. Matthew Arnold, Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde. Arnold’s “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time” (802-25). From Pater’s Studies in the History of the Renaissance (833-41). Wilde’s “The Critic as Artist” (895-912).

WEEK 14

11/22. Thanksgiving Holiday—no classes all week.

WEEK 15

11/29. Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud. Nietzsche’s “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense” (870-884). Freud’s “The Uncanny” (929-52).

WEEK 16

12/06. Ferdinand de Saussure. From Course in General Linguistics, “Introduction” and Part One, Chapter I (956-77).

FINALS WEEK

Final Exam Date: Thursday, December 13th 7:30 – 9:20 p.m. in class. Journal Set 3 and the Paper will be due by email attachment on or before Friday, December 21st. (I must turn in grades by Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008.).

SYLLABUS FOR E491 TRADITIONS OF ENGLISH LITERARY CRITICISMCSU FULLERTON, FALL 2007