This course is designed as a critical survey of modern literary theory from the middle of the twentieth century to today. It includes both primary and secondary readings on New Criticism, Structuralism and Semiotics, Post-Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, Marxist and Cultural Criticism, Feminism, and Post-Colonialism. Discussion will include applications of these approaches to literary texts as well as the evaluation of their methodological assumptions, consistency, and fruitfulness. The aim of this course is not only to enhance the students' ability to read critically and to think theoretically, but also to provide an understanding of the importance of contemporary literary theory for the analysis of culture in general and the influence of literary theories on fields such as anthropology, cultural studies, history, psychology, and even law.