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Advanced Critical Theory

Module description

This prepares you for postgraduate study or work in the culture industries by equipping you with a high level of up-to-date tools and methods of critical cultural analysis.

Depending on the group's collective experience, we cover both classic problems of genre and aesthetics and more recent critique in social theory, for example, theories of globalisation and world literatures, gender and sexuality, environmentalism, and digital humanities. The module appeals to students from a range of backgrounds and will be of particular interest if you enjoyed studying cultural and social theory in your first and second years.

Module aims - intentions of the module

• To prepare you to go to graduate school or work in the culture industries equipped with high level and up to date tools and methods of critical cultural analysis. Depending on the seminar participants' level of collective knowledge, it will cover both classic problems of genre (e.g. Plato on the role of the poet, Longinus on the Sublime, Kant on the Beautiful) and more recent critique in social theory (e.g. cultural production and consumption, theories of globalisation, gender, sexuality, religion, and ethnicity). The module should be stimulating irrespective of a student's particular specialism, from medieval to contemporary, and should be particularly attractive to students who enjoyed studying cultural theory in their first year.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate sophistication and articulateness in contemporary cultural theory and history of aesthetics
• 2. Present critical theory and its applications within a critical group
• 3. Through clear thinking and writing, and sustained concentration on difficult material, develop mental flexibility, tolerance, ability to deal with change and changing perspectives, and independence in thought, planning, and research

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an advanced ability to analyse critical theories and to relate their concerns and modes of expression to their historical contexts
• 5. Demonstrate an advanced ability to apply critical theory to texts and media of their choice
• 6. Demonstrate an advanced ability to use logical argumentation to critique – explore the scope and limits – of any particular theory

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Through seminar work and presentations, demonstrate advanced communication skills, and an ability to work both individually and in groups
• 8. Through essay-writing, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, an advanced capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
• 9. Through research for seminars, essays, and presentations demonstrate advanced proficiency in information retrieval and analysis
• 10. Through research and writing, demonstrate an advanced capacity to make critical use of secondary material, to question assumptions, and to reflect on their own learning process

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Introduction and construction of syllabus
• Genders and Sexualities
• Empire, Postcolonial Studies, Globalisation
• Foucault
• Digital identities
• Biosocial identities
• Science and Technology: Transhumanism and Enhancement
• World Literatures and Reading Practices
• Eco-criticism and Ecology without Nature
• Ways of Reading
• Review session to present final paper topics

N.B. This is indicative only of the kind of topics we may discuss, which will be based on topics of current interest and on more classic readings from The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2010 edition. In the Introductory session, we shall determine the final syllabus based on the group’s experience, needs, and enthusiasms.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Students are required to purchase the following: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, ed. Vincent Leitch et al (2010 or most recent edition). All more recent readings are electronically linked on ELE and are also in the Library and Ready Text.

Other resources:

Reading for week 1. Please prepare for this by considering the contents and alternative contents tables in the Norton Anthology and the readings on ELE. You will be asked to make selections of the kinds of readings you wish to study in the module. We shall confirm the syllabus during this Introductory meeting.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1898

Key words search

Critical Theory