In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn what literary analysis is and how to do a close reading without feeling overwhelmed. We’ll think of analysis as a lens for zooming in on crucial details, patterns, and meanings in a text. By the end of the session, you’ll walk away with simple, practical tools you can use to understand literature more clearly and confidently. 

In week two of the Lit Theory workshop, we will explore the following theories: structuralism and deconstruction. What they are and their key (core) ideas, and how they are used in literature. Finally, we look at some examples of both theories and round the presentation by discussing your assignments and questions you might have about them. 

You’ll learn how binaries, pairs like light/dark, good/evil, or self/other, show up in stories and shape how we understand them. We’ll talk about how these opposites work in literature and what happens. We’ll also complete a creative writing exercise.  

In week four of the Lit Theory workshop, we will examine the following theories: feminist, psychoanalytic, and gender studies. We will explore their key ideas and look at some examples of each one. Finally, we will discuss academic tone/structure, do an activity, and answer questions. 

You’ll learn the basics of Marxist literary theory and explore how power, money, and economic systems shape the stories we read and how we understand them during module five. This workshop examines how class, labor, and inequality appear in texts and shape characters, conflicts, and themes. You’ll also take part in a short creative writing activity.

In week six of the Lit Theory workshop, we will examine silenced or marginalized voices. We will discuss some vocabulary that pertains to the topic. Finally, we will end with an activity and questions you might have about your assignments. 

In week seven of the Lit Theory workshop, we will apply multiple literary theories to interpret and analyze a single quote. This will allow us to see firsthand how literary theory shapes the questions we ask and deepens our understanding of a text. 

In week eight of the Lit Theory workshop, we will reflect on the term. We will examine several essential questions and some vocabulary. Finally, we will examine meaning, how theories complement/contradict each other, and how they resonate with the reader.