The link above is a PDF of the book I referenced in my video lecture. It is titled In Search of Authority by Stephen Bonnycastle. It is a very similar book to Tyson’s Critical Theory Today. Bonnycastle attempts to introduce his readers to the concept of “literary theory,” which is synonymous with critical theory. In essence, they are the same thing. In the video lecture above, I review Bonnycastle’s first chapter, “Why Study Literary Theory Now?” I do not expect you to read the entire book. Again, I just want you to read the chapter titled “Why Study Literary Theory Now?”
I want you to pay specific attention to page 40 and beyond, under the subheading “The problem of ideologies.” Finally, I invite you to answer the following question once you are finished reading and watching my video lecture. This is a mandatory assignment, and it must be completed to pass the class. I break down how I grade the final assignment at the bottom of the page
This is from page 40…
“The effects of ideologies can be seen at their clearest in religious conflicts. Imagine a woman raised in a thoroughly Christian culture where all the people she encounters are practicing Christians. It would be natural for her to assume that everyone is Christian and that Christianity provides the truth about the world. Now imagine this woman visiting a Buddhist monastery in Japan. If she could talk to the monks, she would quickly become aware that this group of people was not operating with her ideology. They would not be impressed with the authority of the Bible or especially interested in the life of Jesus. They would not understand what was meant by the idea of a God who took a personal interest in individual human beings. Furthermore, suppose that the Christian did not reject this new community out-right but instead decided to follow its way of life and that she began to appreciate things in this world of which she was ignorant before— practices such as meditation, the martial arts, or flower-arrangement —that are not important in a Christian culture. Eventually, she would begin to see that, to some extent, her ideology creates the world she lives in.
One principal reason for studying theory simultaneously with literature is that it forces you to deal consciously with the problem of ideologies. If you don’t pay attention to theory, or if the professor doesn’t mention it, that is like saying, ‘I’m going to ignore the fact that there are Buddhists in the world, and pretend that only Christians exist.’ This attitude might be considered irresponsible; at the very least it could leave you with a large gap in your awareness of the world, which could hamper your life later on.
One result of thinking about ideologies is that it introduces a lot of uncertainty into literary studies. It raises the question, ‘What knowledge is most worth having?” No one has found a broadly accepted answer to this question. Many students don’t want to cope with this kind of uncertainty early on in their university careers: they want ‘the truth’; they want ‘certainty.’ And there are understandable reasons for wanting to find the truth. Feeling you know the truth provides a lot of emotional security. Unfortunately, in this case ‘the truth’ simply does not exist. If you are going to live intelligently in the modern world, you have to recognize that there are conflicting ideologies and that there is no simple, direct access to the truth. Everyone must have met people who have chosen to embrace a very limited “truth,” and (as a result) have avoided some complex but important areas of human experience.”
Bonnycastle answers the question “Why Study Literary Theory Now” on pages 51 and 52. My question for you folks:
Is studying theory at the same time as studying literature worth it, in your honest opinion? Why/Why not study literary/critical theory? In your discussion, try to incorporate the following perspectives:
- Tyson’s Introduction Chapter “Everything you wanted to know about Critical Theory but were afraid to ask”
- Consider your response to that discussion
- Consider all of the theories (your quizzes, the discussion topics — revisit them if needs be –reflect on what you’ve accomplished)
- Consider your responses to your peers
- Consider the various ways Tyson showed us how The Great Gatsby could be seen through so many different lenses
- Consider your reading of The Mosquito Coast
- Consider your reading of The Beach
- Consider your reading of Heart of Darkness
- Consider your last 3 Reflection Discussion Board Posts
This is worth 200 points (see rubric for how I arrive to final point total). I’d like you to devote approximately 1500-2000 words. This is a discussion assignment, so your post is public, and your peers will be able to read it. Even so, I still would like you to include bibliographic citations, including all primary and secondary sources we’ve worked with this semester. If you cite directly or indirectly, I’d like to see authors’ names and page numbers in the body of your post.