Ethnicity, Race, Culture
characters of diverse ethnic/racial/culture background result in confusion, conflict, meaningful interaction.
stereotypes, prejudice
Post-Colonial Literary Criticism: one group oppress/colonizes/controls another
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/10/
Gender
traditional roles of men, women and protests against them
Feminist Criticism: challenge women's domestic, secondary, subservient roles
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/11/
Gender Studies and Queer Theory: how characters of different genders or sexuality are portrayed / described.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/12/
History
how writer's life affect the way they writes about particular time and place. Why writer write this way due to history. What can be deducted about history. How readers in time would think about the writing.
New Historicism: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/09/
Psychology
internal struggles/issues/concerns of a character. Feeling of guilt, fear, inner conflicts. Understand inner conflicts and unconscious desire of character.
Psychoanalytic Criticism: Theories of Freud.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/04/
Social Class
Difference between social classes of characters. Economic, social status difference among characters. Are different jobs associated with prestigious social status?
Marxist Criticism: address issues that Karl Marx wrote about
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/05/
5-year-old + 3-year old roving around suburban neighborhood with a group of other kids.
3-year old get hurt
reported to CFS (Child Family Service)
"I put out my literary award"
Jess: "zero tolerance policy" - imprisoned 6,000 families
52% of children under 14 in foster care are First Nations, Metis, Inuit youth
"Shaun King": got complaint citing Wikipedia
Race: Japanese-Canadian + Jewish white (rejected by neighbors?)
"Real reason people become helicopter parents is not fear for what could happen to their kids, Its the fear that if something bad does happen to your kids, it will have been your fault" (of course your fault)
History: Jess's policy raise concern Psychology: too much worry, child's accompany explore, ladder
"fall to play unstructured time, make independent decisions, take risk"
child more likely to take risk when parents around Race: groups in foster care Class: social class and privilege pulled us through Gender: the father did not get called
Gender lens Consider the gender of the author and the characters: what role does gender play in the text? Observe how gender stereotypes might be reinforced or undermined. How does the text reflect or distort the place men or women have in society? How might you read the text from the point of view of someone from a different gender identity than yourself?
Table of Content