Course Description
Narrative Theory is
designed to introduce students to the central concepts of narrative theory as
they have evolved in the scholarship of literary, performance, and rhetorical
criticism. As essentially contested
concepts, narrative and narrative theory continue a process of evolution.
Theorists operating from at least two different philosophical traditions
continue to debate about the nature of narrative.
Over the course of the semester, we will survey “traditional”
narrative theory, including basic definitions of terms by literary theorists,
examine theorists and theories that use empiricism as a basis for theory
construction, investigate phenomenological perspectives on the nature of
narrative, and engage the arguments that arise from the competing philosophical
perspectives. Working from this
ground, students, working in groups, will examine narrative in a contemporary
social, cultural, and/or political context.
Each group will assume responsibility for applying this information by
teaching a portion of the course.
