Undergraduate - UnitATS2405 - Introduction to critical theory

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
Offered	Clayton First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Alison Ross

Notes

Previously coded CLS2000

Synopsis

This unit is designed to introduce students to some of those key contemporary ideas about cultural, literary and philosophical issues which are now generally brought together under the heading 'critical theory.' It aims to present an overview of leading figures within twentieth-century critical theory including Theodor Adorno, Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michael Foucault and Julia Kristeva. The unit will also encourage students to discuss the issues that these thinkers raise. Each class will focus in detail on a specific essay by one of the authors mentioned.

Outcomes

On the successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

read and criticise some of the major texts of critical theory
use the terminology of contemporary criticism with confidence
make their own writing responsive to the issues considered in critical theory
apply aspects of theoretical learning to their study of texts
have a communicative competence in the discourse of theory as such

Assessment

Two essays (2250 words each): 100%, the second of which will be written under examination conditions

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alison Ross

Contact hours

2 hours (1 x 2 hour seminar) per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Comparative literature and cultural studies
Communications
Literary studies (International literatures)

Prerequisites

A first year sequence in English or Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies