Critical Theory and A Doll's House

Introduction

Overview

In this final assessment of our unit on A Doll’s House, your group will present a reading of A Doll’s House through a single critical theory. In this presentation, you will research your critical school, focusing on its history, significant contributors to the theory and the types of questions a literary theorist from that school would ask and why. You will then connect this research by showing a reading of significant portions of A Doll’s House through that single critical perspective.

 

 

Task

General Guidelines

  • You will have time in class to research the critical school, but be sure to communicate at home with your group.
  • As always, look to academic sources for your research and be weary of Google and Wikipedia. The Purdue Owl website has some great sources, as do academic databases such as JSTOR. I will also give your class some supplemental materials. BE SURE TO PROPERLY CITE YOUR INFORMATION AT THE END OF YOUR PRESENTATION.

 

Presentation Guidelines

Presentation should last 7-10 minutes

  • Be both informative AND interesting. Critical theory can be difficult to understand, and you want your theory to be manageable and accessible to your classmates. For this reason, I encourage you to be creative. PowerPoint presentations can be an excellent and efficient way to convey information, but we all know how boring it can be to sit through a never ending PowerPoint. Consider more creative options either to supplement or even take the place of a presentation. Here are some ideas:
    • Create a song/dance/rap/art that conveys your theory
    • “Bring in” one of your leading critical theorist to explain the theory (think… video, interview, and/or acting)
  • The presentation should have a well-argued and thoroughly supported critical   reading of a portion (or portions) of A Doll House. The section of A Doll House you choose should clearly connect with your critical theory.  It should be specific rather than general. It should also avoid hyperbolic or hysterical readings – in other words, readings that stretch the limits of reason or that intentionally take the lens too far in an attempt to mock the school of theory (or the assignment). This can be done in a number of ways, but specific references to the text and the critical school are imperative. The presentation should provide a summary of how reading through this particular lens shapes the understanding of the text.

Here is a bullet point breakdown of presentation requirements:

Presentation must include:

Literary Theory

  • Background information about the theory
  • Key person(s) who influenced the theory
  • Tenets (main points) about the theory accompanied by compelling facts
  •  Key words associated with the theory & definitions
  •  Strengths of the theory
  •  Weaknesses of the theory

 A Doll’s House Analysis

  • A Thesis: What does a reading of A Doll’s House through the lens of your theory show?
  • A presentation of a specific scene or scenes through your lens
    • What does your theory reveal about the scene?
    • An evaluation of how effective this lens lends itself to A Doll’s House
      • Think: This is an essay – the scenes that you chose are the evidence for your thesis. Likewise, your analysis of the evidence supports your thesis.