The Art of Criticism

Course goals

In this course, students employ literature as the starting point for their own critical engagement with, and participation in, contemporary culture, media and politics.

1. Students examine the art of literary criticism both in theory and in practice: they survey influential texts that have defined the role of the literary critic across the last century, as well as analyze more recent texts that have grabbed public attention and sparked widespread debate.
2. Students also spend a significant portion of the course developing their own critical voice through various modes of writing and presentation.  Genres of writing that will be discussed and/or produced in this course include:​

• Reviews: of fiction, criticism, theory, drama, poetry, autobiography, essays, as well as literary talks, festivals, and adaptations.
• Features: issues pertaining to the literature/life interface; literary-political issues of gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, youth identity; debates between literary figures; profiles/interviews of individual authors.
• Opinion: columns, editorials, “think” pieces, extended blog posts.
• Lyric/experimental essays: personal accounts of literary engagement; hybrid forms of writing; interdisciplinary or multiplatform publications. This includes exploring different media for engaging with literary debate.

3.  Students are guided through the logistics of pitching and producing a publication, and they are asked to consider the aesthetic and ethical aspects of why, how and where they publish their work.

Content

In addition to the instructor(s), outside experts from the literary field periodically will visit the course for lectures and discussions. Students also will be asked to attend local literary events, as well as to familiarize themselves with various platforms for non-academic critical writing. Over the seven weeks, students will work on producing a total of two critical texts, through the process of writing, peer editing, and rewriting. In addition to the texts' contents/arguments, the form and effectiveness of the student's writing style will be taken into account; therefore, an entry level of C1 in English proficiency is an absolute requirement!     


 

Additional information

As of August, please check Brightspace regularly for more information concerning your course(s).