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LITERARY THEORY

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Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Core NSUS1EN211 4

Course Coordinator and Team:                   SES Faculty

Email of course coordinator:                       pcbabed@aud.ac.in 

Pre-requisites:                                               No

Course Description:

This course offers students a thorough exploration of critical literary theory, spanning foundational concepts to contemporary discourses. Through six modules, students will navigate the evolution of literary theory, from its roots in liberal humanism to postmodern and feminist interventions. The course begins by contextualizing critical literary theory within historical and theoretical frameworks, then delves into foundational texts that laid the groundwork for subsequent theoretical developments. Students will engage with major movements such as Marxism, Post Structuralism, Feminism and Gender Theory, and Postmodernism, examining key thinkers and seminal texts that shaped literary discourse. It will acquaint students with some of the most influential thoughts of the contemporary world and enable them to analyse, critique and situate literature within a larger context. 

Course Objectives:

  • To familiarize students with the historical development and key concepts of critical literary theory.
  • To develop critical reading skills for engaging with complex theoretical texts and identifying key arguments and themes.
  • To explore major movements and influential thinkers in critical literary theory, situating their contributions within the broader history of thought.
  • To cultivate the ability to articulate connections between theoretical texts and broader intellectual and socio-cultural contexts.

Course Outcomes:

  • Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the historical development and evolution of critical literary theory.
  • Analyse and interpret complex theoretical texts, identifying central arguments, theoretical frameworks, and key concepts.
  • Evaluate the contributions of major movements and influential thinkers in critical literary theory, contextualizing their ideas within broader intellectual traditions.
  • Synthesize and articulate connections between theoretical texts, historical contexts, and contemporary discourses in critical literary theory.

Brief description of the modules:

Module 1: Introduction

The introductory module will orient students to the field of critical literary theory and its modern

origin. It will compare critical literary theory to the liberal humanist theoretical understanding

preceding it.

Suggested Readings:

  • Peter Barry. “Introduction” and “Theory before Theory” in Barry, Peter. Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Beginning Theory (fourth edition). Manchester university press, 2020.pp 1-38
  • Mary Klages, “What is literary theory” and “What is Humanist Theory” in Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed. C Black, 2006. Pp 1-30

Module 2: Foundational Texts

The essays in this module may be regarded as foundational discourses for much of the theory that

emerged in the 1970s. The Marxist idea of historical materialism, the Freudian concept of

unconscious, Saussure’s notion of signifier and de Beauvoir’s analysis of constructedness of gender have been the base on which much of the structure of later theory is built upon.

  • Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. Social Being and Social Consciousness, Marxism and Literature, by Terry Eagleton, University of California Press, 1976, pp. 31-32
  • Freud, “From The Dream Work” In Eds Rice, F. Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Pp- 24-33
  • Ferdinand de Saussure, “From the Course in General Linguistics” in eds Rice, F. Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Pp- 34-40
  • Simone de Beauvoir, “From The Second Sex” in eds Rice, F. Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Pp- 41-42

Module 3: Marxism

  • Gramsci, Antonio. “The Formation of the Intellectuals” and “Hegemony and Separation of Powers” in The Modern Prince and Other Writings. Ed. and Trans. Louis Marks. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1957.
  • Althusser, Louis. “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” in Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971.

Module 4:  Post-Structuralism

  • Derrida, Jacques. “Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences” in Writing and Difference. Trans. A. Bass. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1978.
  • Foucault, Michel, “Truth and Power” (1977) in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, trans. and ed. by Coling Gordon et al. (London, 1980), pp. 109-133.

Module 5: Gender

  • Luce Irigaray. “This Sex Which is Not One” in Marks, Elaine, and Isabelle De Courtivron (ed). New French Feminisms: An Anthology (The University of Massachusetts Press 1980), pp.99-108.
  • Rubin, Gayle. “The Traffic in Women” in Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 2017, pp. 770-795.
  • Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution” in Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 2017, pp. 900-912.

Module 6: Postmodernism

  • Huyssen, Andreas. “Mapping the Postmodern” in Nicol, Bran. Postmodernism and the Contemporary Novel: A Reader. Edinburgh University Press, 2002. Pp. 59-71

Assessment Plan:

S.No

Assessment

Weightage

1

Mid term Examination

30%

2

Fortnightly response write ups:

20%

3

End-Semester Examination

50%

Recommended readings:

  • Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. "Social Being and Social Consciousness" Marxism and Literature, by Terry Eagleton, University of California Press, 1976, pp. 31-32
  • Ferdinand de Saussure, “From the Course in General Linguistics” in eds Rice, F. Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Pp- 34-40
  • Simone de Beauvoir, “From The Second Sex” in eds Rice, F. Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. Pp- 41-42
  • Althusser, Louis. “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” in Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971.
  • Derrida, Jacques. “Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences” in Writing and Difference. Trans. A. Bass. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1978.
  • Foucault, Michel, “Truth and Power” (1977) in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, trans. and ed. by Coling Gordon et al. (London, 1980), pp. 109 133.
  • Luce Irigaray. “This Sex Which is Not One” in Marks, Elaine, and Isabelle De Courtivron (ed). New French Feminisms: An Anthology (The University of Massachusetts Press 1980), pp.99-108.
  • Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution” in Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 2017, pp. 900-912.
  • Huyssen, Andreas. “Mapping the Postmodern” in Nicol, Bran. Postmodernism and the Contemporary Novel: A Reader. Edinburgh University Press, 2002. Pp. 59-71
  • Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983.
  • Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999 Mary Klages Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed. A&C Black, 2006.
  • Rivkin, Julie, and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 2017.
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