Reed College Catalog

Catalog > Catalog 2010-11 > Programs and Courses of Instruction > Departmental Majors > Literature

Literature

Many departments in the Division of Literature and Languages offer courses in which the texts are read in translation. Literature courses are described under particular cross-listed departments within the division, with the exception of Literature 400 and 401, which are intended to serve all majors in the division. When courses are cross-listed under the sponsoring department, the texts in these courses are often read in the original language, usually in a separate conference; students with appropriate language skills should, for example, register for German 321 rather than Literature 321.

All literature courses fulfill Group A requirements. One unit of a literature course (or one unit in creative writing) may be applied toward the English major. For other majors in the division, literature courses at the 300 level will fulfill the division requirement of two units in a literature outside of the major.

Literature 400 - Introduction to Literary Theory

Full course for one semester. A historical and analytical introduction to the major theoretical movements of the last 50 years in Western European and American literary criticism. The course will trace the philosophical origins and conceptual affiliations of the major theoretical developments, as well as the methodological paradigms that draw on them. As part of this overview we will unpack the master tropes of the different theoretical movements in order to develop a basic understanding of how to wield them effectively in literary critical discourse. Movements covered will include structuralism and semiotics, poststructuralism and deconstruction, Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, poststructuralist Marxist theory, Foucauldian theory, postmodernism, and cultural studies. The course will be taught as a seminar, with each student responsible for organizing the discussion of a reading or topic. It is designed for literature majors, but non–literature majors with adequate preparation may be admitted at the discretion of the instructor, depending on enrollment. Prerequisites: junior standing and at least one literature course, or permission of the instructor. Cross-listed as French 400 and English 400.

Literature 401 - Literary Theory and Literary Criticism

Full course for one semester. This course explores the practical challenges of literary analysis. We will focus on what it means to “apply” a theory in the act of reading. We will also ask how critics attempt to respond to the concrete demands of individual texts rather than viewing them through the lens of preformulated methodologies. Each class session will be organized around the examination of a canonical work of poetry or prose alongside the diverse interpretations it has occasioned. Authors will include Baudelaire, George, James, Kafka, Kleist, Poe, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth. Criticism by Adorno, Bloom, Brooks, de Man, Felman, Greenblatt, Jakobson, Michaels, Riffaterre, and Spivak. Students taking the course for German credit will meet in extra sessions. Prerequisites: at least one course in the Division of Literature and Languages or consent of the instructor. Cross-listed as English 401 and German 401. Conference. Not offered 2010–11.