[CLEA W4101] Literary and Cultural Theory: East and West

The syllabus is overly comprehensive, allowing only a day of discussion for difficult topics such as deconstructionism, freudian theory, post-colonialism, etc. The readings for each topic are not necessarily the most relevant, but always very difficult, requiring at least 3 hours of prep for each session. Prof. Shirane not only takes attendance every class like an elementary school teacher, he calls on students at random, so the reading is necessary. Unfortunately, his lectures and questions are nothing more than a synopsis of the reading, neither offering nor stimulating independent thought. And beware: if you reverse the situation and ask him a question he gets flustered and brushes the question off for later. Class discussion, the one glimmer of hope that sparks up every once in awhile, is quickly squelched since he's too busy rushing through his summaries.