ENGL 251 S22 Beresford

Course Schedule

Announcements

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Discussions

A General Discussion topic* has also been made available to allow students to communicate with peers in the course. Your instructor may drop in at this discussion topic.

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Course Description and Learning Outcomes 

Welcome to English 251. In this course we focus on how developments in what is called literary theory have changed the way we approach the critical study of literary texts.

Literary theory is a systematic approach to thinking about the methods and aims of literary criticism, which was born at the beginning of the 20th century and has continued to evolve up to the present day. The ideas and techniques created by literary theory didn't just refine or improve the practice of criticism from the 19th century: as you'll see, in some ways literary theory challenged it outright, even to the point of questioning the very category of literature. In this course, we'll start by examining why we call some written works literary and not others, and what criteria we use to define literature. We'll then examine the birth of literary theory in Russia, its development by the structuralists and the adaptation of structuralist ideas by critics interested in psychoanalysis and politics. Although much of the material is abstract and general, our emphasis will be on how to use literary theory in the analysis of literary texts. The course aims to be practical and useful, demonstrating that literary theory makes possible new approaches to criticism, approaches which yield insights not possible with traditional criticism.

When you have finished this course, you will be familiar with a number of literary theories and will have at your disposal many new tools and techniques for literary criticism. This course includes readings, activities, and assignments which you can find in the course schedule. You will need to complete all of these assignments and the final exam in order to complete the course. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks.

Description

Literary criticism has changed dramatically over the last 40 years or so, and the aim of this course is to introduce you to the ideas and techniques that have emerged in this time. These new ideas and techniques haven't just refined, or improved, the inherited method of criticism: they have challenged it outright. 

Literary debate since the 1960s has questioned the very basis and purpose of literary criticism, to the extent that it has even thought aloud about whether there really is a definable category of written works that deserves to be fenced off as literature. In this course we'll concentrate on three central areas of debate: whether there is such a thing as literature: and how we decide what belongs to it and what doesn't; the replacement of attention to words with attention to signs and signification; the debate over whether political questions have a role in the analysis of literary texts. Though much of the discussion will be fairly abstract

and general, we'll strive to always bear in mind how these questions might affect the way we do literary criticism in the most ordinary, concrete sense.

Course Aims and Outcomes

This course aims to:

• acquaint students with some of the major schools of literary theory and criticism from 1910 to the present,
• provide students with a toolbox of critical methods that will be useful for their further work in literary studies,
• teach students to think critically and reflectively about their approach to the analysis of literary texts, and
• encourage students to consider the purpose and meaning of the study of literature.

By the end of the course, you will:

• have a basic understanding of the evolution of literary theory from 1910 to the present,
• be able to deploy a number of literary-theoretical concepts effectively and carefully in the study and critique of literary texts

• be able to comment concisely and effectively on issues in literary theory, and

  be able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to literary criticism and analysis.

About the Course Author

Ken Hirschkop

Please note that the course author is not involved in the ongoing delivery and administration of this course. Communication regarding course content should be addressed to the instructor.

Ken Hirschkop is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. Born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he took a BA at Swarthmore College, majoring in Music. Dr. Hirschkop went to England for his graduate training, completing an MA at the University of London in 1982 and a DPhil at Oxford University in 1990. While at graduate school he became interested in two broad areas, which would become the focus of his research: the philosophy and sociology of language, and the relationship between cultural forms and democratic politics in the 20th century.

Dr. Hirschkop taught in England for 18 years, first at the University of Southampton, later at the University of Manchester; he moved to Canada and the University of Waterloo in 2005. His teaching covers not only literary theory, but also studies of urban writing and culture, rhetorical theory, and print culture. He published numerous articles and two books on the philosopher and literary theorist M. M. Bakhtin, as well as many articles on the politics of 20th century culture (there is even the odd piece on his first love, music).

Materials and Resources

Textbook

There is no required textbook for this course.

Course Reserves

The required readings are available through Course Reserves and can be

accessed using the Library Resources widget on the Course Home page.

Resources

Library services for co-op students on work term and distance education students

Find and Use Resources

Online Reference Shelf

eReference Items for English

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Biographies, and more

English Literature and English, Rhetoric and Professional Writing

Contemporary Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English

The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

Grade Breakdown

The following table represents the grade breakdown of this course.

Course and Department Policies

Late Submissions

Analyses: For the analyses, a 20% penalty will apply for the first day late, 50% for two days late, and a mark of 0 after that.

Discussions: If you do not participate in a required discussion within the time frame alotted, you will receive a mark of 0 for that discussion.

Essay Assignment: The essay assignment will have a penalty of 3% for the first day, and 1% every additional day (up to a maximum penalty of 20%). No essay assignments will be accepted after the start of the final examination period.

Intellectual Property

Students should be aware that this course contains the intellectual property of their instructor, TA, and/or the University of Waterloo. Intellectual property includes items such as:

Lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof);

Lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g., PowerPoint slides);

Questions or solution sets from various types of assessments (e.g., assignments, quizzes, tests, final exams); and

Work protected by copyright (e.g., any work authored by the instructor or TA or used by the instructor or TA with permission of the copyright owner).

Course materials and the intellectual property contained therein are used to enhance a student’s educational experience. However, sharing this intellectual property without the intellectual property owner’s permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. For this reason, it is necessary to ask the instructor, TA and/or the University of Waterloo for permission before uploading and sharing the intellectual property of others online (e.g., to an online repository).

Permission from an instructor, TA or the University is also necessary before sharing the intellectual property of others from completed courses with students taking the same/similar courses in subsequent terms/years. In many cases, instructors might be happy to allow distribution of certain materials. However, doing so without expressed permission is considered a violation of intellectual property rights.

Please alert the instructor if you become aware of intellectual property belonging to others (past or present) circulating, either through the student body or online. The intellectual property rights owner deserves to know (and may have already given their consent).

University Policies

Submission Times

Please be aware that the University of Waterloo is located in the Eastern Time Zone (GMT or UTC-5 during standard time and UTC-4 during daylight saving time) and, as such, the time that your activities and/or assignments are due is based on this zone. If you are outside the Eastern Time Zone and require assistance with converting your time, please try the Ontario, Canada Time Converter.

Accommodation Due to Illness

If your instructor has provided specific procedures for you to follow if you miss assignment due dates, term tests, or a final examination, adhere to those instructions.

Otherwise:

Missed Assignments/Tests/Quizzes

Contact the instructor as soon as you realize there will be a problem, and preferably within 48 hours, but no more than 72 hours, have a medical practitioner complete a Verification of Illness Form.

Email a scanned copy of the Verification of Illness Form to your instructor. In your email to the instructor, provide your name, student ID number, and exactly what course activity you missed.

Further information regarding Management of Requests for Accommodation Due to Illness can be found on the Accommodation due to illness page.

Missed Final Examinations

If this course has a final exam and if you are unable to write a final examination due to illness, seek medical treatment and have a medical practitioner complete a Verification of Illness Form. Email a scanned copy to the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) at extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca within 48 hours of your missed exam. Make sure you include your name, student ID number, and the exam(s) missed. You will be REQUIRED to hand in the original completed form before you write the make-up examination.

After your completed Verification of Illness Form has been received and processed, you will be emailed your alternate exam date and time. This can take up to 2 business days. If you are within 150 km of Waterloo you should be prepared to write in Waterloo on the additional CEL exam dates. If you live outside the 150 km radius, CEL will work with you to make suitable arrangements. Further information about Examination Accommodation Due to Illness regulations is
available in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. If you have not already completed the online tutorial regarding academic integrity you should do so as soon as possible. Undergraduate students should see the Academic Integrity Tutorial and graduate students should see the Graduate Students and Academic Integrity website.

Proper citations are part of academic integrity. Citations in CEL course materials usually follow CEL style, which is based on APA style. Your course may follow a different style. If you are uncertain which style to use for an assignment, please confirm with your instructor or TA.

For further information on academic integrity, please visit the Office of Academic Integrity.

Turnitin

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course.

It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration, should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline, may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Final Grades

In accordance with Policy 46 - Information Management, Appendix A - Access to and Release of Student Information, the Centre for Extended Learning does not release final examination grades or final course grades to students. Students must go to Quest to see all final grades. Any grades posted in Waterloo LEARN are unofficial.

AccessAbility Services

AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodation to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term and for each course.

Accessibility Statement

The Centre for Extended Learning strives to meet the needs of all our online learners. Our ongoing efforts to become aligned with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are guided by University of Waterloo accessibility Legislation and policy and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. The majority of our online courses are currently delivered via the Desire2Learn Learning Environment. Learn more about Desire2Learn’s Accessibility Standards Compliance.

Use of Computing and Network Resources

Please see the Guidelines on Use of Waterloo Computing and Network Resources.

Copyright Information

UWaterloo’s Web Pages

All rights, including copyright, images, slides, audio, and video components, of the content of this course are owned by the course author, unless otherwise stated. These web pages are owned or controlled by the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning. By accessing the web pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal, non-commercial use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt, or change in any way the content of these web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the course author and the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning.

Other Sources

Respect the copyright of others and abide by all copyright notices and regulations when using the computing facilities provided for your course of study by the University of Waterloo. No material on the Internet or World Wide Web may be reproduced or distributed in any material form or in any medium, without permission from copyright holders or their assignees. To support your course of study, the University of Waterloo has provided hypertext links to relevant websites,resources, and services on the web. These resources must be used in accordancewithanyregistrationrequirements or conditions which may be specified. You must be aware that in providing such hypertext links, the University of Waterloo has not authorized any acts (including reproduction or distribution) which, if undertaken without permission of copyright owners or their assignees, may be infringement of copyright. Permission for such acts can only be granted by copyright owners or their assignees. If there are any questions about this notice, please contact the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 or extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca.