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ENGL 201: The Theory and Practice of Criticism
This is the core course in
English at Lancaster. It addresses fundamental questions about the status,
value, and interpretation of texts: What is literature? Why are some literary
and cultural texts deemed to be exceptionally valuable? What are the best ways
of reading these texts? 201 poses these questions in the context of recent
debates about language, politics, gender, selfhood, culture and national
identity. Students on 201 will discover the major critical concepts and debates
of recent years and assess their strengths and limitations as models of
literary interpretation. A couple of novels will be used to exemplify, explore
and re-think these concepts.
The course will consider the ways in which critical theory has challenged traditional assumptions about literature and criticism; it will examine the debates that have opened up between different theoretical schools of thought; and it will enable students to deploy theoretical terms and concepts in their own acts of reading. Its overall aim is to make students more rigorous, sophisticated and inventive in their readings of literary and cultural texts.
Current Undergraduates
For undergraduate information including:
- Part I & Part II Handbooks
- Library resources
- University links etc
go to resources for current students.
Philip Caveney - Royal Literary Fund Fellow
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Prospective Students
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