The following is a schedule of readings for each unit of the semester (this is subject to change based on our class progress). The readings listed under a particular day are the readings that will be discussed in our meeting that day; therefore, you should complete the readings prior to our meeting. For every day of new reading, there will be a Reading Accountability Quiz (RAQ) due at the start of class that covers the material for that day's reading.
The two books that you should acquire are Severance by Ling Ma, and Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Culler. See more information on the FAQ page. All other readings will be provided as pdfs on the Canvas site. I highly recommend printing out the pdfs so that you can refer to them in class. They are all from The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism (3rd ed.), which you can purchase if you'd like to have easy access to a physical copy.
Note that some of the course readings contain adult subject matter. We are all adults so I don't expect this to present a problem, but please get in touch if you find you are having difficulty with the themes covered in the readings.
Monday, August 19th
Read the syllabus
Familiarize yourself with the Canvas page
Complete the Entry Survey
Wednesday, August 21st
Read Culler, Chapter 2
RAQ due at 11am
Friday, August 23rd
Read Severance (1–33)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete discussion question assignment
Monday, August 26th
Read Severance (34–72)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete discussion question assignment
Wednesday, August 28th
Read Severance (73–106)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete discussion question assignment
Friday, August 30th
Read Severance (107–147)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete discussion question assignment
Monday, September 2nd: NO CLASS, LABOR DAY
Wednesday, September 4th
Read Culler, Chapters 5 and 6 and take notes on vocabulary that will help you think about how novels and poems work
RAQ due at 11am
Friday, September 6th
Read Severance (148–190)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete narrative theory assignment
Monday, September 9th
Read Severance (191–231)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete narrative theory assignment
Wednesday, September 11th
Read Severance (232–270)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete narrative theory assignment
Friday, September 13th
Read Severance (271–291)
RAQ due at 11am
If you are signed up: complete narrative theory assignment
Monday, September 16th
Read Culler, Chapter 1 and Appendix
RAQ due at 11am
Wednesday, September 18th
Read Heffernan and Hamilton, "Introduction" to Theorising the Contemporary Zombie
RAQ due at 11am
Friday, September 20th (ASYNCHRONOUS CLASS)
I will instruct you to engage in a discussion board about how to read the figure of the zombie in Severance.
Monday, September 23rd
Read Culler, Chapter 4
Read Lévi-Strauss, from Tristes Tropiques (1222-1233)
RAQ due at 11am
OPTIONAL: Read Ferdinand de Saussure, from Course in General Linguistics (820–837)
OPTIONAL: Read Wimsatt and Beardsley, "The Intentional Fallacy"
Wednesday, September 25th
Come to class prepared to talk about structuralism in relation to Severance.
Note: Formulate a Topic Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, September 27th
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Monday, September 30th
Read Culler, Chapter 8
Read Sigmund Freud from The Interpretation of Dreams and "The Uncanny" (783–816)
RAQ due at 11am
Wednesday, October 2nd
Come to class prepared to talk about psychoanalysis.
Note: Find Sources and Working Bibliographies Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, October 4th
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Monday, October 7th
Read Intro to Marx and Engels (652-655) and Selections from Capital (667-678)
Read Fredric Jameson, from The Political Unconscious (1731–1734; 1738–1757)
RAQ due at 11am
Wednesday, October 9th
Come to class prepared to talk about Marxism.
Note: Saving Sources Using Zotero Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, October 11th
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Complete midterm survey
Monday, October 14th: NO CLASS, FALL BREAK
Wednesday, October 16th
Read Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility" (973–996)
Friday, October 18th
Come to class prepared to talk about materialist approaches to texts.
Monday, October 21st
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Wednesday, October 23rd
Read Barthes, "Photography and Electoral Appeal" (91–93), "Plastic" (97–99), and "Ornamental Cookery" (78–80)
Read Culler, Chapter 3
Read Jean Baudrillard from The Precession of Simulacra (1480–1492)
RAQ due at 11am
Note: Taking Notes for Documentation Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, October 25th
Come to class prepared to talk about poststructuralism and deconstruction.
Monday, October 28th
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Wednesday, October 30th
Read Rob Nixon, from Slow Violence (2353–2368)
Read Culler, Chapter 9
RAQ due at 11am
Note: Outlining & Writing a Thesis Statement Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, November 1st
Come to class prepared to talk about posthumanism and ecocriticism.
Monday, November 4th
If you are signed up: complete theory presentation
Wednesday, November 6th
Read Bruno Latour, "Why Has Critique run out of Steam?" (2111–2136)
Read Dan Sinykin, "How Capitalism Changed American Literature"
RAQ due at 11am
Note: Rough Drafts & Documentation Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, November 8th
Come to class prepared to talk about postcritique and computational literary studies
Monday, November 11th: NO CLASS, VETERANS' DAY
Wednesday, November 13th
Group presentations on Post45 Essays
Friday, November 15th
Group presentations on Post45 Essays
Monday, November 18th
Bring in the questions that your Post45 Essay attempts to answer
Wednesday, November 20th
Bring in your final project research questions
Note: Revise & Polish Your Draft Workshop from 4-5pm in Evans Library 204 (no registration required)
Friday, November 22nd
Bring in the thesis statement and reverse outline of your Post45 Essay.
Monday, November 25th
Bring in an exemplary paragraph from your Post45 Essay.
Wednesday and Friday, November 27th–29th: NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING BREAK
Monday, December 2nd
Final Presentations
Wednesday, December 4th
Final Presentations
Friday, December 6th
Final Presentations
Final Papers due Friday, December 13th at 3pm