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ENGL.2000: Critical Methods of Literary Inquiry

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ENGL.2000.202: Critical Methods of Literary Inquiry
English Department, College of FAHSS, UMass Lowell

This guide is a collection of course materials and recommended research materials. Select course materials on the side navigation menu to begin.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students must be able to:

  • Close read (explicate) poetry and prose (e.g. define & discuss rhyme scheme & meter, point of view, characterization, etc.).
  • Identify, analyze, and discuss elements of the form, content, and context of literary texts.
  • Identify the principles and apply the basic methods of the major schools of literary criticism, including formalism/New Criticism; reader-response; historicism and cultural studies; deconstruction; psychoanalysis; feminism, gender studies & queer theory; Marxism; and ethnic & postcolonial studies.
  • Locate reliable, scholarly secondary sources on literature and culture.
  • Write a lucid, organized essay with a clear thesis (argument), support (analysis of primary and/or secondary texts), and proper MLA documentation (in-text citations & Works Cited page).
  • Properly integrate primary & secondary sources into academic writing (using paraphrase, summary, and/or direct quotation).