Course Outline

Unit 1

Literary studies and humanities-differences between natural, social and human sciencesfacts and interpretation-cannon formation.

Unit 2

Literary analysis-approaches-Formalism-New Criticism-Close Reading Structuralism – Post Structuralism – Deconstruction-Reader-Response Psychoanalysis.

Unit 3

Problems and issues in literature-marginalisation-identity and representation-feminism-gender and sexuality-ethnicity-orality-subalternity.

Unit 4

Literary scholarship-linguistics-textual criticismliterary history-literary criticism.

Unit 5

Contemporary approaches to literary studies – Culture Studies and Cultural Studies – Popular Culture-New Historicism/Cultural Materialism-Post Modernism-Post Colonialism-Ecocriticism Ecofeminism.

To introduce students to the basic methodology of literary studies and Humanities.

1. Thorpe, James. Ed. The Aims and Methods of Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literatures. Toronto: PMLA, 1970.
2. Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Delhi: Viva Books, 2008.
3. Kundu, Abhijit. The Humanities: Methodology and Perspectives. New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2009.
4. Seldon, Raman, et al. A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2005.
5. Guerin, Wilfred L, et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New Delhi: OUP, 2009.
6. Widdowson, Peter. Literature. Psychology Press, 1999.
7. Abrams, M. H, Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning India Private Limited, 2015.

1. Eagleton, Terry. “What is Literature?”.
2. Xavier, Robin. The Methodology of Literature. Chennai: Mainspring Publishers, 2015.
3. Coupe, Laurence. Ed. The Green Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 2000.
4. Dollimore, Jonathan and Alan Sinfield. Political Shakespeare: New Essays in Cultural Materialism. Manchester: MUP, 1985.
5. Macherey, Pierre. A Theory of Literary Production. Tr. Geoffrey Wall. London: Routledge, 1978.
6. Williams, Raymond. Culture and Society . London: Fontana, 1957.
7. Waugh, Patricia. Ed. Literary Theory and Criticism : An oxford Guide. New Delhi: OUP, 2006.
8. Brooker, Peter. A Glossary of Cultural Theory. London: Arnold, 2003.