The aim of this course is to introduce students to the philosophical and theoretical movements that set the grounds for literary criticism. They are an indispensable tool for understanding literary and cultural texts in depth. Each theory will be discussed and analyzed in class and illustrated with selected texts to further practical understanding of their complexity. The class will cover a wide range of theories produced during the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Marxism, psychoanalysis, structuralism and post structuralism, feminism, and post colonialism among others. (1 unit)

Required text: Material in electronic form to be available for students upon arrival at Middlebury