| Description |
A historical introduction to literary theory in the Western tradition from Plato to the present. In our readings of philosophers, critics and creative writers, we will consider issues such as mimesis, imagination, religious belief, sexuality and ethics. Past terms and current problems are related to an inquiry into the nature-and the power-of literature through the centuries. Critical works from Plato and Aristotle, through Nietzsche, Beauvoir, Benjamin, Derrida and Achebe will be read. Also poetry and plays by Sophocles, Shakespeare, Eliot and Brecht. |