This course will introduce students to concepts, topics, and issues of literary theory and criticism. Wherever feasible, seminal texts of Chinese literary thought and those of European literary theory will be juxtaposed to demonstrate basic questions and concerns shared by different literary traditions. The Chinese texts will be offered and explained to familiarize students with these shared questions and concerns, but the focus of this course will be on European literary theory and criticism. Students are encouraged to read the texts of European critical theory written in English, and to think whether the concepts and approaches outlined in these texts can be applied to interpreting Chinese literature. The objective of this course is to provide students with methods and tools of studying literature, and to stimulate them to reflect on the characteristics of Chinese literature in a broad, comparative context.