At least 1400 words, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman Font
MLA style format and heading
Three direct quotes minimum from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
(At least) one direct use of at least one Literary Theory presented in Telescopes and Spyglasses: Using Literary Theories in High School (no direct quotes mandatory)
One reference to a scholastic, peer-reviewed source (this can be a quote, data, or summary)
Bonus consideration for any Literary Theory you use that wasn’t covered in the course (New Criticism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, & Feminism)
Suggestions:
Don’t overthink it. Take your Literary Theory, make it a ‘portable idea’, and then see if and how it shows up in Stories of Your Life & Others
Use Google, ChatGPT, or whatever helps! Read thematic and analytical ideas of others on Stories of Your Life & Others
PART 1: Literary Theory Analysis
-Using at least one established “Critical Literary Theory” of your choosing, construct a “lens” with which to analyze one or more short stories from Stories of Your Life & Others by Ted Chiang
-Choose 1 (at least): Structuralism, Deconstruction, Postmodernism, Psychoanalysis, Feminism and/or Queer Theory, Marxism, New Historicism, and Post Colonialism
-Analyze at least 1 short story from Stories of Your Life & Others from the class using one or more Critical Literary Theories that you chose
PART 2: Make Your Own Literary Theory
Due: 1 or 2 paragraphs minimum. This is meant to be a creative and fun exercise where you can use your analytical mind to analyze something, find the critique, and turn it into a “theory” of some kind. It can be serious in tone but it can also be goofy and silly if that’s easier for you.
Assignment Prompt:
In Part 1 of your essay, you explored the origins and purposes of established literary theories. For Part 2, you will create your literary theory, drawing inspiration from the foundational principles and objectives that guided the development of existing theories. (think of it more as a cultural or contextual theory, it doesn’t have to reflect literature).
Guidelines:
Understanding the Foundations: Reflect on the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts that shaped the creation of the literary theories you studied. Consider the problems or gaps they aimed to address and the principles that guided their development.
Developing Your Theory: Create a new literary theory that responds to a current need or gap in literary, media, or cultural analysis. Your theory should be informed by the foundational principles of existing theories but should also introduce your innovative perspective.
Theory Tenets: Articulate the key principles or tenets of your new theory. Explain how these tenets offer a unique approach to interpreting literature and how they relate to the foundational principles of the theories you studied.
Critical Analysis: Analyze the motivations behind your theory’s creation. Compare and contrast your theory’s objectives and approaches with those of the established theories, discussing how your theory builds upon or diverges from traditional literary analysis.
Application: Apply your theory to a specific text of your choice (TV, movie, or other is fine too). Demonstrate how your theory sheds new light on the text or offers a novel interpretation. Use examples from the text to illustrate your theory’s application.
Name Your Theory: Give your theory a name of whatever you think is a good fit and describe why. Please avoid overly controversial content, however, I will be reading your ideas so remember this is just an exercise. No manifestos, please.
*********ATTACHED BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE AND EXTRA HELP *********** 🙂
