ENGL
3354: Literary and Cultural Criticism
Fall 2007
#92566
MWF 10:10am-11:00pm, Pamplin 2028
Professor Bernice Hausman
Paper #1: Reflection
This paper is a reflection on your critical sensibilities as an interpreter of literature and culture. The assignment asks you to locate yourself on the chart provided on p. 3 of Contexts for Criticism (Keesey). To do this, discuss what "context" you think is most important in interpreting literary works, using your own experience as a guide (in other words, what have you been interested in when you have written papers before? How do you figure out what to write about? What does it seem most crucial to know about a literary work in order to interpret its meaning[s]?).
Please note: This assignment is asking you to be self-reflective about your own practices as a literary critic. You may want to get out some old papers to look at, to see what you have been doing in your "career" as a student of literary analysis. The paper will be evaluated according to your presentation of both your past experiences and your anticipated analysis of the literary work. You may wish to read through Keesey's introduction to each section to get a sense of how he defines each of the "contexts for criticism." The argument of the paper concerns your demonstration that literary texts and/or cultural practices demand attention to certain elements, without which any interpretation would be lacking. Thus, your discussion should demonstrate that the approach you are advocating will produce a plausible interpretation of the text, without which any overall analysis would be lacking. (You don't need to argue that yours is the only way to go.)
Length: 4 pages. Please see formatting page for information about words-per-page, margins, and Works Cited style (MLA format).
See also How to hand in a paper, Tips for writing a successful paper, and Expectations for writing assignments.