Welcome to the homepage . . .

. . . for English 60A, a course on contemporary critical theory taught by Tim Spurgin, a member of the English Department at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Here's what you'll find on this page:

• Basic information--a description of the content and format of the course; capsule biographies of class members; etc.
  
• Syllabus, handouts, and responses from students--just what it says; the students' responses are especially interesting
  
• Webs spun by students--webs designed to illuminate and comment on issues treated in this course
  
• Internet resources--a list of links to sites dealing with materials from the course; the list includes the "Marx/Engels Archive," "Deconstruction on the Net," and a spiffy "Page for John Cage"
  

Basic information

• Course description--What we think we're doing here.
• Format of the course--How we're going to try to do it.
• Course requirements--Information about writing assignments, plus the formula for figuring final grades.
• Capsule biographies--Who we (think we) are.
• A word from the instructor--Why mess with theory? Here are some of my reasons . . .

Syllabus, handouts, and responses from students

• Syllabus--A week-by-week look at our readings and assignments.
  
• Handouts for the class--Background materials, study questions, and possible discussion topics.
  
• Responses from students--An archive of students' immediate responses to the readings.
  
• List of binaries--Composed with the help of JP and Joe, here's the beginnings (I hope) of a list of our favorite binaries.

Webs spun by students

• 1993 hypertext database--Information on New Criticism, Marxist criticism, and psychoanalytic criticism.
  
• 1997 students' web projects--Brand-new webs created by students, illustrating and commenting on issues in the course. Right now, you'll find some webs devoted to readings of Derrida, and some others devoted to readings undertaken in light of theorists like Derrida.
  

Internet resources

• List of links--Links to sites dealing with particular writers and theories. I update the list regularly, so please make a habit of checking in.
  
• Website for Modern Critical Thought--A very nice site, prepared by Mary Klages of the University of Colorado, this one is distinctive because it includes the instructor's lecture notes. Students in English 60a should check out Klages's notes on Jacques Lacan, Helene Cixous, and Luce Irigary--figures who aren't covered in our class.
  
• Undergraduate Introduction to Literary Theory--A spiffy introduction to new historicism, cultural materialism, psychoanalysis, and feminism, this site explains how each theory might be applied to a pair of sonnets from Spenser's Amoretti; the site was created by D. M. Felluga of Purdue University.
  
• Voice of the Shuttle theory page--Perhaps the single most comprehensive set of links to internet resources in the humanities, this one is a classic; it's maintained by Alan Liu of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• CMU English Server--Another classic, this site has been in business at Carnegie Mellon University since 1990. It now includes links to 20,000 e-texts and other resources!
  
• University of Pennsylvania theory page--Another very comprehensive set of links, this page is maintained by Jack Lynch of the University of Pennsylvania.