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07
Апрель

Critical Theory

2018/2019
Учебный год
ENG
Обучение ведется на английском языке
4
Кредиты
Статус:
Курс по выбору
Когда читается:
3-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Преподаватель


Школьников Вадим Валерьевич

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course "Critical Theory" embraces a broad variety of subjects in contemporary humanities and cultural studies. It encourages the students to reflect critically on the interrelationship between culture and imperialism, introduces them to psychoanalysis under late capitalism, and explores the theories of the post-human. In the first module the focus will be on ideological constructs, the social imaginary, and culture. In the second module the focus will be on subjectivities, the psyche, and the self.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • This course serves as an introduction to the ideas of some of the most important thinkers in the broad and dynamic field of modern “critical theory.”
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Students read, understand, analyze, and discuss complicated theoretical work written in English (or English translation)
  • Students develop sustainable skills in critical thinking through addressing the wide range of issues of both abstract and urgently concrete issues of contemporary life and culture
  • Students who may or may not be interested in graduate-level work in Anglophone countries are sufficiently equipped for engaging in theoretically informed academic discourse
  • Students convey the multiplicity of perspectives available for advanced work in and beyond the humanities
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Ideological Constructs, the Social Imaginary, Culture
    Critique of Post-Ideology. Historical Ruptures in the Structure of Knowledge. The Irreducibility of Metaphor. The Psycho-Ideological Experience of Community. Cultural Imperialism. Consumer Society and the Culture Industry.
  • Subjectivities, the Psyche, and the Self
    Psychoanalysis and Its Critique. History of Sexuality. Gender and Identity. The Post-Colonial Subject. Post-Humanism.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Written in-class test
    Short essay questions on key topics from the lectures.
  • non-blocking Presentations
    Prepare a 10-minute presentation on the selected topic. Try not just to summarize the text, but also to provide criticism/raise points for discussion. You can choose the sources that are suitable for disclosing the presentation topic.
  • non-blocking Class participation
  • non-blocking Final Examination Paper
    (about 2000 words): You are free to choose your own topic. The one requirement is that your analysis should draw on the work of at least two theorists that we have covered (or the equivalent). You may want to apply theoretical perspectives to analyzing a literary text. Or you may write on a purely theoretical topic—how different theorists approach some common problem.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (2 module)
    0.1 * Class participation + 0.35 * Final Examination Paper + 0.3 * Presentations + 0.25 * Written in-class test
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • LaCapra, D. (2013). History, Literature, Critical Theory. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=671499
  • Osborne, T. (2008). The Structure of Modern Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=515106

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Tally, R. T. (2014). Fredric Jameson : The Project of Dialectical Criticism. London, [England]: Pluto Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=798182
  • Wolfreys, J., Womack, K., & Robbins, R. (2014). Key Concepts in Literary Theory: Vol. Third edition. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Wortham, S. (2010). The Derrida Dictionary. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=341723