We all use some kind of interpretive strategy whenever we read, view, or listen to texts. One purpose of this course is to make you more aware of the variety of assumptions people make about literary texts and the implications these have for critical reading and writing. This course should help you develop awareness of reading as a creative act with social and political implications as you learn the theory of and practice several major critical approaches. By the end of the course, you should also become better at thinking critically and creatively while expressing that thinking in effective writing. You will be aided in this preparation by the writing that will be due nearly every class period, writing which will prepare you mentally to participate in class discussions and to write longer papers.
Assignments are due when indicated.
Your journal entries should be considered thinking and writing experiments. More about this as the date gets closer. This will be a graded review of the material we have covered to this point in the semester. You will write one essay, taking an identifiable critical approach, on each of the four major texts we read for class. You may rewrite one of these 3-5 page essays to clarify the approach and to improve the grade.