A Semester in Review

Throughout the Critical Theory and the Academy class I have found many theories intriguing. The most intriguing to me was Marxist Criticism. I found this appealing because I felt that it was the hardest concept to fully understand. The differences within the theory itself perplexed me. An example of this would be the difference between Englisian Marxist Criticism and Leninist Marxist Criticism. Leninist, being based around the writings of Lenin, believed that the only writing that is accepted in that in benefit of government. Englesian believed in the exact opposite. It believes on freedom between art and government.

The point that confuses me the most is how two completely different sides can actually be labeled under the same criticism. Yes, both concepts put a work within socioeconomic boundaries, but are they the same? I do not believe they are. If they both have the same goal I would link them together, but they do not. They speak of two totally different concepts.

Another theory that grabbed my attention the most was Postcolonial Criticism. Kyle and I presented on this for our discussion lead and I found it enlightening. I found the concept of finding ones identity interesting. Also, the way that it can apply to many cultures worldwide helped me notice that many people can apply this theory to their own lives. I do not believe that this can apply to me. I am not a colonizer or the colonized. I am in between. The colonization of the United States did not affect me greatly. What found most interesting about Postcolonial Criticism was a point that was presented in class. This was the point that some places cannot find an identity. It would be nearly impossible because they had been taken over and passed around many times.

Overall, the studying of all the theories made me think about how I could apply them to myself and the literature I read. The blog project allowed me to think through these theories and attempt to apply them to various different topics. It also allowed me to read the classes opinions on each theory to further expand my knowledge on the theories we were learning. I enjoyed the class a lot and found the essay paper to be interesting to work on.