Responding to Literature: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Catalog description

This course deals with the ways in which readers respond to and transact with literary texts, and aims at helping students understand the nature of the variety of ways in which literature interfaces with our lives. Three different types of discourse are read: literary criticism; empirical research on response to literature; and literary texts themselves. Various types of literary criticism are considered, including (but certainly not limited to ) what is commonly called "reader response criticism"; text-based criticism; and criticism that contextualizes literature socially and historically. The empirical research on response deals with ways in which readers of various ages interact with literature, mostly in school settings; some attention is given to instructional design and critique of methodology. The literary texts range from picturebooks to literature for young adults.