Literary Studies 605 gives students the opportunity to examine the contemporary issues that motivate and captivate scholars in literary studies. Students will strengthen their familiarity with common approaches in literary studies, such as those focused on close reading, feminism, queer studies, postcolonial studies, the environmental humanities, Indigenous studies, and the particularities of literary studies in Canada. Students will also read a variety of poems, short stories, and novels to see what can be gained by applying theoretical questions and issues to diverse texts. What is literary studies for? Which texts should we read? How, exactly, should we understand a disturbing poem about fruit, a murder mystery in which the narrative point of view is just as important as the murder, or a novel in which the narrator believes, against all evidence, that she is a mermaid?
In addition to writing traditional analytical essays, students will have the option to develop work in other formats, such as videos, podcasts, conference-style presentations, comic books, or other forms that combine analytical argumentation and textual evidence with elegance of expression. Students will also develop self-reflections on their work in order to evaluate their own learning. Ultimately, students will develop original assessments of the assigned texts and of the role of literary studies in responding to the imaginative and cultural concerns of our time.
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, students should be able to
evaluate the concerns and methods that are central to the field of literary studies.
assess the role of literature and imaginative representation in responding to a variety of contemporary concerns, including scrutiny of whose voices are heard or silenced.
apply the skills of close reading, as well as relevant theoretical approaches and secondary research, in order to assess the ways in which the assigned texts develop meaning.
analyze the ways in which relevant literary concepts such as imagery, metaphor, irony, point of view, form, genre, and others operate within specific texts.
create thoughtful, articulate, original critical analyses of the assigned texts and concepts at a graduate level of proficiency, surprising themselves and their professor with new insights.
Evaluation
To receive credit for Literary Studies 605, students must participate in the online activities, successfully complete and submit the assignments, and achieve a final mark of at least 60 percent. Students should be familiar with the Master of Arts—Interdisciplinary Studies grading system. Literary Studies 605 does not have a final examination. Please note that it is students’ responsibility to maintain their program status. Any student who receives a grade of “F” in one course, or a grade of “C” in more than one course, may be required to withdraw from the program.
Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts presented in the course and on their ability to apply those concepts. Students' final grade in the course will be based on the marks achieved for the following activities.
Activity
Weight
Discussion Posts
25%
Assignment 1
20%
Assignment 2
25%
Assignment 3
30%
Total
100%
Materials
Emezi, Akwaeke. The Death of Vivek Oji. Riverhead, 2020. (Print)
Hunt, Samantha. The Seas. 2004. Tin House, 2018. (Print)
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. 4th ed., Oxford UP, 2020. (Print)
Van Camp, Richard. Moccasin Square Gardens. Douglas & McIntyre, 2019. (Print)
Online Materials
All other course materials, including detailed course information, a study guide, assigned readings, and a writing guide, are available online.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.