Fort Valley State University--Department of Languages

ENGLISH 399: Literary Criticism 5 Hours

Spring 1998

Instructor: B. Keith Murphy, Ph.D.

Sophist@Bigfoot.Com

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Course Description:

English 399 covers several areas of study, each designed to provide the student with essential skills in literary theory and textual criticism. The student will engage in active critical analyses of a variety of texts. The student will develop an understanding and practical knowledge of the means by which theory provides the critic with new ways of seeing and with new means of gaining both knowledge and insight. The student will become familiar with traditional and contemporary rhetorical and critical theory and schools of thought as well as gain a working knowledge of critical vocabulary.

Course Objectives:

1. The student will develop a working knowledge of the role of theory and criticism.
2. The student will apply theory to artifact and use that application to draw relevant and insightful critical conclusions.
3. The student will develop a working knowledge of the various genres, schools of thought, critical approaches, and key critics and works throughout the history of literary criticism.
4. The student will develop an understanding of the application of rhetorical/critical theory to multi disciplinary texts.
5. The student will demonstrate competency in intertextual analysis and interpretation.
6. The student will demonstrate an ability to process and synthesize abstract concepts and apply them to concrete texts.

Course and Major Outcome Objectives:

• 1, a.The student will research, develop, and write a major term paper that will critically evaluate a text.
• 1, c.& e. The student will, through the body of the course, develop a method for critically evaluating texts.
• 1, d.The student will utilize word processing programs to write papers and will utilize the Internet, the WWW, and electronic databases to research their papers and positions.
• 2, a. & c. The student will develop the ability to utilize theory to construct frameworks that allow them to view the world critically and logically. This theoretical framework will allow the student to distinguish between fact and opinion.
• 3, b.&c. The student will be able to identify, understand, and apply the ideas that comprise literary theory. The student will also utilize research skills to obtain and apply appropriate interdisciplinary texts.
• 7, a.The student will develop an understanding as to why certain literary texts are more valued than others.

Text:

Photocopies of articles and other readings can be checked out in the Languages Office (Bond 248).

Recommended: Selden, Raman and Peter Widdowson. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. (3rd Ed.) Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1993.

Supplementary Readings:

Additional readings will be determined individually based upon each student's choice of text.

Grading Policy:

Grading will be conducted as follows:
          Mid Term Examination:         100 pts.
          Final Examination:            100 pts.
          Short Papers:                 100 pts (total)
          Term Paper:                   100 pts
          Total:                        400 pts.

Grades will be assigned using the typical decimal scale (90% -100%=A; 80% - 89%=B; etc.).

Examinations will consist of short essay questions that will require you to demonstrate not only the ability to memorize information, but to synthesize and apply it as well. All papers must be typed and they must follow proper citation formats (either APA or MLA...just be consistent).

No late work will be accepted.

Attendance:

This is an information heavy course. You are responsible for the information whether you are present or not. In fact, I strongly recommend that you bring in cassette recorders and tape the lectures. For grading purposes, this course will adhere to the university policy regarding absences (which can be found in the F.V.S.U Catalog).. Since this is a 5 credit course, every absence after the fifth will result in a deduction of one point from your final average. Excessive tardiness (either in number or duration) will be counted as absences. However, do not get the impression that passing/failing this course is a result of whether or not you sign the roll every day.

Examination Requirements:

Examinations will consist of short essay questions that will require you to demonstrate not only the ability to memorize information, but to synthesize and apply it as well. Toward that end, you will need to bring pens and blue books for examinations. Examination dates will be announced in class.

Tentative Schedule of Course work:

Library Assignments:

The student will be expected to utilize both traditional and non-traditional research resources in collecting material for both the short and term papers.

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