Contemporary Literary Theory

What is literary theory and how does it allow us to think language and power in concert with categories of representation that exceed language: race, gender, coloniality, ecology, and subjectivity? This course will introduce students to literary theory, exploring how to read theory and how it helps us read other texts. We will consider the synergy between theories of signification and contemporary feminist, critical race, and postcolonial interventions. We will ground our analyses within particular literary, visual, and theoretical works, learning how to read cultural production as theory, rather than "applying" theory to selected texts.