Literary interpretation can be both frustrating and a bit mysterious. Students sometimes find it hard to move from the approaches to literature they learned in high school to the skills and concepts they are expected to master in college classes. This series of five videos was created by a group of faculty members and Ph.D. students at the University of Texas.
Reading Closely with CRIT
This video introduces you to an interpretive method called “close reading.” Close reading has been central to literary studies for nearly a century and is still foundational for most university-level English classes. Follow this link to find a handout of the CRIT steps discussed in the video: http://bit.ly/2ddbkWw
Reading Text and Context
Literature and other media have always played a significant role in how Americans perceive and think about race and racial stereotypes. This video will help prepare you to analyze or “read” race in U.S. literature and other media.
Reading Actively
When you read literature, reading actively is always the way to go. This video provides an overview of seven useful things to mark when reading actively: emotional sparks, figurative language, patterns, shifts, genre, allusions, and questions.
Reading with the Oxford English Dictionary
University of Texas research aids for literary study can be found here.
