Introduction to Literature and Literary Studies

The course familiarizes the students with the fundamentals of the scholarly discipline of literary studies, specifically its history and practice. It prepares the students for endeavors that require the tools of both scholars and lifelong learners, including literary and rhetorical expressions, critical and imaginative thinking, creative and effective presentation and production, social and cultural analysis, and the basic concepts, genres, approaches, and methods in such undertakings.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Identify time periods in the history of literature and criticism.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of time periods, basic theoretical and methodological orientations and literary movements.
  3. Read and write critically and creatively in the understanding of literary studies as practice.
  4. Interpret literary and cultural productions that are text-specific and context-specific.
  5. Deploy reading and writing strategies in the production of materials for a variety of rhetorical contexts, including oral presentations and creative productions.

Topics

  • What is Literary? What is “Theory”? What is Literature?
  • History of “theory” from the Ancient to the Postmodern Period.
  • Language and Meaning: Poetic, Narrative, Dramatic, Rhetorical
  • Texts and Contexts: text-specific and Context-specific Critical Orientations
  • Concepts, Approaches, Methods

Sample Modules and Syllabi

Ars Poetica: Self/Identity

Mesandel Arguelles, De La Salle University

Module on Alejandro Abadilla’s “Ako ang Daigdig” (poem)

Ars Poetica: The Pain of Style

Shirley Lua, De La Salle University

Module on Cirilo Bautista’s “Style” (poem)

You Are What You Eat: Reading Class, Race, and Gender in N.V.M. Gonzalez’s “The Bread of Salt”

Antonette Talaue Arogo, De La Salle University

Module on N.V.M. Gonzalez’s “The Bread of Salt” (short story)

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