Literary Criticism Discussion
Tasks:
Connect one of the theories of literary criticism that you were introduced to on the Introducing Literary Criticism page to some form of creative/artistic media – whether it be film, music, literature, etc. – that you enjoy or are otherwise drawn to. Then, explore and explain how you think the theoretical perspective is either expressed in or can be applied to your chosen work.
Part 1. Choose one of the Schools of Literary Criticism from Unit 1, besides Reader Response (i.e. ethnic and cultural studies, feminist theory, queer theory, psychoanalytic theory, or structuralism and semiotics).
Part 2. Learn more about your chosen literary theory using the credible, scholarly sources included in this unit:
Feminist Theory: Gregory Castle and Robert C. Evans
Queer Theory: Gregory Castle and David Carter
Psychoanalytic Theory: Gregory Castle and Robert C. Evans
Structuralism and Semiotics: Gregory Castle and Robert C. Evans
Ethnic and Cultural Studies: Gregory Castle and Robert C. Evans
Part 3. Select a creative or artistic work (e.g. a text, video, artwork, etc.) that you want to apply your chosen theory to. Choose something that is interesting or exciting to you that you will enjoy thinking critically about.
Part 4. First, briefly explain some of the key concepts, questions, or ideas of your chosen literary theory, including an in-text citation for your source(s).
Part 5. Then, introduce your chosen media work, and provide a link to it. Finally, discuss how and why your chosen literary theory applies to your chosen artistic/creative media. How does viewing your artifact through the lens of a specific literary theory color the way that we respond to it? How does it change what aspects of the artifact we pay attention to?
