ENGL 4715

Everyone's a Critic

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

"In many ways," says Anton Ego in Ratatouille, "the work of a critic is easy." Is that true? This course examines critical writing intended for general readers – book and film reviews in particular – with an emphasis on the practical strategies critics use in framing their writing for different audiences and in manipulating different forms (the review-essay, the survey, the hatchet job, the retrospective, etc.). We'll read from some of the great mid-century critics (Pauline Kael, Randall Jarrell), as well as the many critics who have flourished in the contemporary era (Updike, Vendler, Wood, Dargis, et al.). Our goal will be to better understand, if not answer, the ancient question, "What's the point of criticism?", as well as its modern variant, "Why should anyone care what That Guy thinks?"

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (CA-AS)

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