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20th Century Literary Criticism and Theory-I

By Dr. Ashish Kumar Pathak   |   Banaras Hindu University
Learners enrolled: 135
ABOUT THE COURSE:
This course- 20th Century Literary Criticism and theory- aims at acquainting UG and PG students with Modern Literary Criticism and Theory as it developed in the 20th century. Literary criticism which used to be author centric until the 19th century becomes text-centric in the 20th century and the form of literature becomes more important with special focus on the analysis of style and use of language. Thus, emerge formalistic approaches to literature in form of movements, isms, or schools of criticism/theory instead of being individual centric and insular in nature. New Criticism, Russian Formalism, Chicago School of Criticism, Structuralism, Poststructuralism and Reader Response Criticism are the movements which primarily flourished in the first half of the twentieth century and may be seen as formulating parameters of creative and critical thinking in literary studies which are more appropriately called theories in the post-World War II era. It also takes into account theories of language and sign such as Semiotics, Stylistics and Speech Act Theory. So, it also seeks to look at the nuanced distinction between criticism and theory which are often used interchangeably. Along with providing an overarching view of these movements, the course also delves deep into important essays and concepts written and coined by the chief exponents of these movements.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG, PG Students

PREREQUISITES: Literary Criticism from Classical Antiquity to The Victorian Age (From Plato to T. S. Eliot)
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 8 weeks
Category :
  • Arts
Credit Points : 2
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 18 Aug 2025
End Date : 10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends : 18 Aug 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 29 Aug 2025
Exam Date : 25 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 7.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1: 
 (i) Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory
(ii) Modern Criticism -T S Eliot
(iii) Principles of Criticism- I A Richards
(iv) Criticism and Culture- F R Leavis

Week 2:  
 (i) Anglo American/ New Criticism: Basic Tenets
(ii) Fallacies in Criticism- Wimsatt and Beardsley
(iii) New Critics and Concepts I- Ransom and Brooks
(iv) New Critics and Concepts II- Empson and Blackmur
(v) Debating Language and Knowledge: New Critics

Week 3:  
 (i) Russian Formalism: History and Origin
(ii) Russian Formalism Key Concepts
(iii) Types of Formalism: Russian Formalists
(iv) Russian Formalist’s Approach to Poetry
(v) Russian Formalist’s Approach to Fiction

Week 4:  
 (i) Structuralism: Origin and Links to Formalism
(ii) Structuralism and Ferdinand de Saussure
(iii) Structuralists Poetics: Jakobson, Propp,
(iv) Structuralist Anthropology and Myth: C Levi Strauss and Northope Frye
(v) Structuralism and Narratology: Barthes, Gennet

Week 5:  
 (i) Post-Structuralism: A Critique of Structuralism
(ii) Deconstruction: Derrida and His Acolytes-I
(iii) Deconstruction: Derrida and His Acolytes-II
(iv) Deconstruction Literature and Philosophy
(v) Post Structuralism and its Influence

Week 6:  
 (i) Reader- Response Criticism
(ii) Phenomenology: Husserl and Heidegger
(iii) Hermeneutics
(iv) Reception Theory
(v) Reader Response Critics: Jauss, Iser, Fish and Bleich

Week 7:  
 (i) Semiotics and Post-Semiotics
(ii) Stylistics
(iii) Speech Act Theory
(iv) Chicago School of Criticism

Week 8: Tests and Assignments

Books and references

  • Thompson, E. M., Russian Formalism and Anglo-American New Criticism. The Hague: Mouton, 1971 
  • Wimsatt, William K. Jr., Cleanth Brooks, Literary Criticism: A Short History. Routledge,2021 
  • Habib, M. A. R. A History of Literary Criticism and Theory: From Plato to the Present. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.
  • Nagarajan, M.S. English Literary Criticism & Theory: An Introductory History. Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2006.
  • Waugh, Patricia. Literary Theory & Criticism: An Oxford Guide. Delhi: OUP, 2006. 
  • Robert Con Davis (ed) Contemporary Literary Criticism: Modernism Through Post Structuralism, London: Longman, 1986 
  • V S. Sethuraman (ed) Contemporary Criticism; An Anthology, Madras: Macmillan (1989)

Instructor bio

Dr. Ashish Kumar Pathak

Banaras Hindu University
Dr. Ashish Kumar Pathak studied from the University of Allahabad and qualified for the UGC NET-JRF in English. Having obtained the degree of D. Phil. on T. S. Eliot, he is currently teaching as Assistant professor in the Department of English, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P. India. Previously he taught at Central University of South Bihar. Patna University and Vasanta College for Women, Rajghat, Varanasi. Dr Pathak has authored a book T. S. Eliot’s Later Phase: A Study of Poetry, Drama and Criticism (Luminous Books, 2017) along with publishing research articles and chapters in national and internation journals and anthologies. His translation work has been published from Sahitya Akademi (2023).

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: 25 October 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 6 assignments out of the total 8 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup. It will have the logos of INI and BHU.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- INI team


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