Course Descriptions
English 547 Sec 001
Approaches to Literary Criticism: Literature, Culture, Politics
Wednesdays 3:30-6:10
Professor Lynn Worsham
Course Description:
This course will focus on Marxist theories of literature and
culture. The tradition of Western Marxism has produced some of
the most exciting theories exploring the role literature plays
in the shaping and re-shaping of the world in which we live. In
fact, the phrase "cultural politics" was coined recently to capture
the sense in which literature and other cultural artifacts participate
in and are products of an ongoing struggle over meaning and value --
what counts as meaningful in a given society and what forces determine
what is considered meaningful? what is deemed valuable and who benefits
most directly from a particular system of value? This course will
consider these questions, providing a brief history of the development
of Marxist literary theory in the twentieth century. We will study
some of the major theorists (Marx, Engels, Lukacs, Macherey) and more
recent developments that seek to update a Marxist critical vocabulary
with a postmodernist and sometimes feminist view of language and
history. Finally, this course will question the vitality of this
tradition in light of the fact that, with the fall of the Soviet
Union, Marxism and socialism have apparently failed as a political
theory and social vision. In other words, what value can a Marxist
literary criticism have in a post-Marxist world?
Written Requirements:
Students will write four short expository papers (approx. 5 pages each)
during the course of the semester. In addition, because the focus of
the course is on building a critical vocabulary for literary study,
students will develop a "dictionary" of key terms. This project will
be undertaken by the class as a whole, as a collaborative project.
Attendance:
Students will be permitted two unexcused absences during the semester.
Excess absences will affect the student's final grade (.5 gr pt per
absence).
Required Texts (tentative selection):
Francis Mulhern, Contemporary Marxist Literary Criticism
course reader (to be made available for purchase at Clark's Graphics)
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