Introduction
Welcome to the exciting world of Literary Theory!
Before we begin to understand this world.... I would like you to think back to last year and remember "the dress".
As you will recall from this picture, some people saw the dress as gold and white... while others proclaimed loudly "No! it is blue and black". Nobody was right or wrong...simply put, depending on your eye lense construction.... the colour pattern of the dress was revealed. This is exactly what literary theory can be thought of as. Simply put, it is a lense that you can use to examine works of literature.
Take a moment to view this introductory video to see an overview of the range of lenses/theories available for use in literary theory.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWPNTcogRY]
Task
Your 
task is to research the given websites and take notes using the handout distributed.
to begin to understand some of the general principles of the six theories we will be using throughout this course.
Remember - literary theories are simply a lense that you can use to see/understand a work of literature in a new light.
Process
You are about to work through a step by step process. For each of the numbered steps below, there is a specific focus you should be recording on your WebQuest Answer sheet (available on e-learning) This sheet will form the basis of your notes
1. Why study Literary theory?
Click on the link to this article and answer the questions that follow:
- What is the main difference between literary criticism and literary theory?
- Identify why literary theory began to rise in popularity during the 20th century.
- What would a psychoanalytic theorist focus on in a text such as For Whom the Bell Tolls?
- Which of Shakespeare’s plays is considered the most “theorized”?
2. Some of the theories we will be focusing on are found in this Prezi. Please view the prezi and complete the table below:
http://prezi.com/0bby_garenpd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Some of the theories we will focus on in this course are:
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Three of the theories explored in this Prezi are below:
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Marxist Theory |
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Who is it based on? |
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What difference is this theory most concerned with: |
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What class would the Marxist critic focus on: |
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How does the Disney Clip exemplify the difference between the classes? |
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Feminist Theory |
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What happened in the 1960s that caused this theory to be created? #research |
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How does this theory consider women to be oppressed? |
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How does the Disney Clip show oppression of Ariel? |
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Have you ever thought of Ariel as oppressed prior to this Prezi? |
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Post-Colonial |
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What does it mean to be colonized? (look it up) |
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What are the central issue of post-colonial theory? |
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How does the Disney Clip of Pocahontas convey post-colonial issues |
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Evaluation
You will be considered Level 4 if after completing the WebQuest you can answer the following:
1. What is Literary Theory?
2. What fashion accessory would you compare it to?
3. Name at least two theories examined in this WebQuest.
If these questions are difficult or you still feel confused. Please go to the start and begin again!
Credits
The following sources were used in the making of this WebQuest:
YouTube Video Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWPNTcogRY
Article "An Introduction to Literary Theory":http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ENGL301-An-Introd…
Prezi Overview:https://prezi.com/jezrxnrfaubm/intro-to-literary-criticism/