MLC Research Seminar

4.0 credits

This course introduces students to a broad range of theoretical and critical approaches to reading and interpreting texts, films, and other cultural objects. Students read literature and theory with an eye toward understanding the role of criticism and why and how the study of literature and culture (still) matters. The class introduces tools for understanding literary uses of languages; the relations between words, images, the human subject and society; and the creation of and struggles over meaning and value. This seminar will model for students how to do research in their MLC major through a workshop process that addresses ways to: identify a research topic/question; begin a scholarly investigation into that topic; and successfully conduct a sustained argument that relies on textual evidence and the application of theoretical insights. There will be short writing assignments and a 15-page research paper.