Our work with theory will build on this skill. We'll look closely at a small set of key ideas--"overturning" in Jacques Derrida, "thick description" in Clifford Geertz, "signifying" in Henry Louis Gates, and "resistance" in Judith Fetterley. Despite apparent and important differences, these concepts coalesce around a common nucleus: the desire to break open closed systems of thought and welcome the disruptive energies of the literary text. What counts as literature--and what counts as literary criticism--is the power of writing to make strange what was settled, familiar, self-evident, or secure. This commitment to an "open text" brings together four different critical approaches: deconstruction, new historicism, multicultural criticism, and feminism. It suggests, in fact, a new direction in literary studies as a whole, a paradigm shift in the profession of English. Exploring the implications of this shift and understanding the historical and philosophical motives behind it are the major goals of this course.