Literary Criticism Critical Theories

This course is a critical introduction to the major paradigms of thinking about literature in the 20th-and-21st-century. It surveys the major schools of literary criticism and theory, ranging from Russian formalism and structuralism to poststructuralism, Marxism, feminism, psychoanalysis, post-colonial theory, and cultural studies. We will consider the ideological debates surrounding the nature, function, and value of literature, discuss what constitutes a valid interpretation of litera ry work, and reflect on how theories affect the current practice of literary criticism. Readings consists of Western literary theories and some Chinese literary texts.