This course will examine the function of criticism in society and how criticism is disseminated through cultural production. We will focus on the poets and critics of democratic Athens (criticism of poetry in the thought of Plato and Aristotle and its relationship to their political philosophies, Aristophanes as a political poet) and compare them with the works of more recent cultural critics such as Robert Warshow, Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, as well as contemporary cultural products such as films and novels. To what extent can cultural criticism define and analyze areas beyond the arts, and how do cultural products such as poetry, literature and film critique contemporary culture?

Students will be evaluated on attendance, class participation, the presentation of group work, and brief writing assignments.