Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism:
•In this final project, we will be constructing a critical theory blog that will analyze an arbitrary text (Frankenstein) using various critical approaches covered in the class. Your individual responsibilities are outlined below.
•Phase One: Sign up for a theorist, reread the sections concerning your theorist in our text, conduct research on your theorist:
Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction (~360 BC-present)
Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelian Criticism (1930s-present)
Psychoanalytic Criticism, Jungian Criticism(1930s-present)
Marxist Criticism (1930s-present)
Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present)
Structuralism/Semiotics (1920s-present)
Post-Structuralism/Deconstruction (1966-present)
New Historicism/Cultural Studies (1980s-present)
Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present)
Feminist Criticism (1960s-present)
Gender/Queer Studies (1970s-present)
•Phase Two: Build two types of blog pages. This portion should be completed by your final exam date in the second week of December. Email me your URL and post a comment on my blog that you are done.
•First, create an information page about your theorist. This could contain a brief biography explaining the contribution this theorist makes to the ‘critical tradition’ of literary criticism and links to useful web sites on your theorist.
•Second, provide an application of theory to our core text (Frankenstein). Your application should be around 750-1000 words.
•Phase Three: Review and analyze how your theorist’s contributions and your theoretical application relate or ‘link’ to your classmates projects. Another words, compare your theory with another theory presented by your classmates.
•Make a list of where your interpretation connects with our core text (chapters 3-5) and the other interpretations. This is done in Journal style.
•Finally, you will present your theory to your class as well as your paper. The medium you choose to present is up to you. Presentations will start on Thursday.
