CLIT 3021: Advanced studies in theory (capstone)  

 Spring 2026

CLIT 3021: Advanced studies in theory and cultural analysis (capstone)  

Prof.  Daniel Vukovich

Venue:   CRT-946, Mondays, 1.00--3.50  * tutorials included

Office: 934 RR Shaw Arts Bldg, Centennial Campus

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 11.00—12 pm & by appointment, in person or zoom.

Email: vukovich@hku.hk  

Description:

Complit 3021 is a capstone course that builds on basic literary and cultural theories introduced in earlier courses and zeroes in on specific topics and lines of inquiry that continue to challenge students to think, read, and write critically.  As a capstone course, it also emphasizes discussion and personal, intellectual engagement with one of the key areas of our major (namely, “theory” and criticism). This semester, our topic will be “Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche.” In other words we will have a pro-seminar, close reading and thinking through – and later writing about or using and applying – the work of the ‘holy trinity’ of critical theory. 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that critical theory, and criticism, are simply impossible today without an engagement with the work – and the real-world problems – that these three humans produced.  About what? Nothing less than life, money, the mind,  human nature, power, ‘society,’ and ideology (or belief, or ideas) and  knowledge. If we want to understand these ‘things’ or problems and to act accordingly, we need to deal with the Trinity.  

Since this term,  our Monday class happens to hit a lot of public or university holidays, we have exactly 9 weeks to ‘meet and greet’ the Trinity. So about 3 weeks for each.  Our basic themes for each are “Alienation, Capital, Class” (Marx), “The Unconscious,  Pleasure, Civilization” (Freud), and “Power, Knowledge, Will” (Nietzsche).  Taken together – and while recognizing their major diffferences -- these three writers have much to teach us about how to understand the modern and contemporary world, about ‘our’ culture and society,  including Hong Kong's and China's, and in short about what human social and mental  life amount to.  What could be more important than that?

Theirs are not always optimistic teachings, but their inquiries, insights, and provocations are nonetheless inspiring and empowering.

For your written work in this class, you will be asked to do response papers,  but also to apply or make use of their texts and ideas and inspirations in more personal and reflective writing that is a bit longer. We can brainstorm paper ideas together as we go along. 

Learning Outcomes:

·       The course will develop your skills in historical, textual, contextual,  and cross-cultural analysis.

·       The immersion in “theory”  will  develop your knowledge of intellectual, political, and cultural history.

·       The course will  develop your awareness of alternative viewpoints about the nature of humans and the systems and societies they form.

·       You should be better able to articulate and argue your own such views in English and in writing as well as speech

Texts:

1.              All readings, as well as additional texts and links,  will be uploaded or found here:  https://sites.google.com/view/classwebprofvukovichhku/introduction

You will be responsible for printing and reading them.  If you can’t find them on the site,  let me know. You are expected to complete the readings before class. 

Grading:

100% Continuous Assessment:

*Instructions and a prompt for each essay will be given in class 1-2 weeks before the due date. They will range from  1k to 2+k per paper.   * To do well in this class you simply must read and re-read the texts, and pout some thought into them before class and when you complete your essays. I can pretty easily tell when folks are working hard versus hardly working on the course…. Do that and you will likely ace this capstone.    

25   % Participation

75 % Written Essays : 3 response papers, due after we complete the readings for each author,  and one final paper.  (4 in total).  Format and prompts are t.b.a. The final paper will be due during finals week in May. 

Late Work Policy:

1. Late work is NOT accepted, except under verified medical or other emergencies. If you need a brief extension for a particular assignment, you must see me one week in advance and commit to a new due date.

2. You must complete ALL major assignments to pass the course. Don’t skip a paper.

Plagiarism:

A writer who presents the ideas or words of another as if they were the writer’s own commits plagiarism. This is a disciplinary offense that can result in failure or expulsion. Consult http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism. If you have any question, see me before you hand your paper in. We use the MLA format because it’s easier.

As for AI usage, make your life easier by NOT using it in your writing. This includes “Grammarly’ and the like, which always trigger AI usage warnings on Turnitin. If however you do use it, you must append a note saying what AI/engines you used, and for what general query.

SCHEDULE (Mondays)

1. Subject to change. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed, or if there is new work. Contact me or a classmate. 

2. Read the headnotes and Intro’s to all our authors whenever available.

Week 1, Jan 19:  Syllabus Review. Some Keywords & Questions. Intro.

Readings: (not required reading —I’ll just refer to them).

1. Wage Labour and Capital (1849)

2. Value, Price and Profit  (1865)

Week 2, Jan 26: Alienation

Readings:  extracts from Marx’s “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts” (pub.1844), in Karl Marx: Early Writings, edited by Lucio Colletti. Page numbers below refer to pages in Colletti, not the pdf. 

  1.     “Estranged Labor” and "Money"  pp 322 -379.  You can skip the discussion of Hegel after 379. 

      * Try to read this from the beginning on p.279, and do at least the first 10-15 pages, but focus on the above. 

2.    Recommended: The Intro. by Colletti himself, a forgotten but brilliant Marxist intellectual in his prime. 

Week 3, Feb 2: Capital & History as Global Forces

Readings: 

1. The Communist Manifesto of Marx and F. Engels. (1848)  pages 31-84 

2. "Preface to A Critique of Political Economy" in Karl Marx: Early Writings ed. Colletti

3. Recommended: Selections from Capital., vol. 1 on primitive accumulation. (1867) , chapters 26 and 31.

Week 4, Feb 9:  Ideology, and Capital and Class, Part II.

Readings:

1.     More extracts from Capital vol. 1. pages 125-53 and 163-177.

2.     extracts from The German Ideology Pages tba

Week 5, Feb 16: CNY Eve. Holiday in afternoon.

Week 6, Feb 23: Lunar NY Holiday

 Response Paper Due before class on March 2

Week 7,  March 2:   Freud &  The Unconscious

Readings:  

1. Selections from The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

2. "The Unconscious" (1915).

 Week 8, March 9: Reading Week. No Class.  But do some reading :-)

Week 9, March 16: Univ. Holiday (full day)

Week 10, March 23:  Pleasure Principle/Death Drive

Readings: 

1. "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" (1920) 

2. Start Civilization and Its Discontents (1930)

Week 11, March 30:  Civilization & Its Discontents

Readings:

1. Civilization and Its Discontents (1930)

Response Paper 2 Due Friday April 3rd. 

Week 12, April 6:   No class, public  holiday.

 \Week 13, April 13:  Nietzche, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer (a beautiful hammer)

Readings:

1. Twilight of the Idols (1888) Pages tba

Week 14, April 20 :  Morality Beyond Good and Evil

Readings:

1. Extracts from Beyond Good and Evil. Pages tba

Week 15, April 27:  Knowledge-Power & Life

Readings:

1. Extracts from the posthumous The Will to Power (1910) Pages tba

Response Paper 3 Due  Thursday, April 30th  

 

    Final assignment due during Finals Week. Details t.b.a.