Critical Literary Theories Handout

Critical Literary Theories Handout

WK 5 Discussion 1

Prepare: Prior to completing this discussion, read the Critical Literary Theories handout (Links to an external site.).

Reflect Icon
Reflect: In the Critical Literary Theories (Links to an external site.) handout, four different kinds of critical approaches are presented. Consider which of the four theories you find most interesting as a means for understanding literature.

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Write: Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. The minimum word count does not include references. Choose two of the critical approaches presented in the Critical Literary Theories (Links to an external site.) handout and address the points below.

Imagine you are the teacher, and you have a student who does not understand these approaches. How would you describe each, in your own words? Be sure to give a specific example of how the approach would be applied to a critical reading of a text.

Compare and/or contrast the two critical approaches. What is each of them most interested in exploring?
Consider the text you wrote for your Literary Analysis Draft assignment in Week 3, and select one of the two approaches you wrote about above. What literary elements, themes, and conflict would you focus on if applying this approach to an analysis of the text? Review the List of Literary Techniques (Links to an external site.) and Types of Conflicts Found in Literature (Links to an external site.) documents for assistance.Formalism or New Criticism approach means that any text has its unique way of examination, meaning while analyzing a specific literature work the critic is guided by the content in the literary work. Reader Response Theory implies that a reader uses his experience after reading the text to form the basis of criticism. Psychological Theory criticism approach is centered on analyzing the actions and behavior of the characters. New Historicism Analysis is focused on analyzing the literature by putting into consideration the historical events and social-cultural aspects dominating the literary work.

Among the four approaches, I find psychological theory and new historicism analysis most interesting. The psychological theory approach is centered on characters, while the New Historicism is focused on historical events.Discuss Icon Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Each response should be at least 75 words in length and should address two or more of the following points:
Do you agree with your classmates’ perspectives? Why, or why not? Be specific.
Ask a specific question to encourage further discussion on the topic.
Challenge your classmates’ interpretation of literature and/or point of view.
Do a small amount of research and share what you learn with your peers about the topic discussed in this post.

WK 5 Discussion 2
Prepare: Review the quote by Skwiot and Clugston that you considered in your Week 1 The Value of Literature discussion: “Literature enriches our lives by challenging us to have new perspectives on life’s experiences and the world in which we live” (Chapter 1, para. 2). You should also review your posts in the Week 1 The Value of Literature discussion. Finally, read the Harry Potter Through the Focus of Feminist Literary Theory (Links to an external site.) article. If you are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series, please review the Series Overview (Links to an external site.) web page before reading the article so you have some foundational knowledge of the series.

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Reflect: Consider how your understanding and perspective of literature has changed (or has not) over the duration of this course. You can also think about the value of literary study and research as you reflect on your experience reading the article. Then, respond to the questions and directives below.

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Write: The initial post must be 200 to 300 words in length and posted by Day 3. In your initial post,

Summarize your understanding of literary research. How does the article exemplify it?
What critical thinking skills are developed by performing literary research, as you did in this course?
What critical thinking skills are developed by reading literary research, as you did for your final literary analysis essay and for this discussion?
What is the value of literary study? How does it help one to become a better individual, colleague, and global citizen? You should use at least one quotation and paraphrase from the Harry Potter article to provide a specific example. For help on writing paraphrases and quotations, review the Ashford University Writing Center’s tutorial Integrating Research (Links to an external site.) and the Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing (Links to an external site.) web page.The article forms the foundation that the readers can rely upon when criticizing the literary work. It is an eye-opener through which the reviewers can have different criticisms about literature. By performing literary research, I have developed several critical thinking skills, including ability to interpret conflicting ideas and values, evaluate a text in more than one way, interpret text based on the prevailing rhetoric, under the relationship between ideas and values in the text and how the author’s opinions can be problematic or compelling in a given text. After reading the final literary analysis essay, I developed a theme and character analysis skills. I learned how the actions of the main character could be used to create the central theme of a story. Discuss Icon
Respond to Peers: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Each response should be at least 75 words in length and should address two or more of the following points:

What did you learn by reading and considering your classmates’ posts?
Ask a specific question to encourage further discussion on the topic.
Challenge your classmates’ interpretations of literature and/or point of view.
Do a small amount of research, and share what you learn with your peers about the topic discussed in this post.