Admission requirements
Not applicable
Description
This course is part of the Core Curriculum programme of the Faculty of Humanities. It offers an introduction to literary theory and to the history and analysis of European literature. The medium used by literature (i.e. language), is considered time and again in relation to other mimetic media (like theatre, painting, radio, film). Starting from the different manifestations of what the Greeks called mimēsis (imitation, representation, impersonation) central to the relation between art, the world and the audience, important genres and concepts from ancient, modern and contemporary literary theory are being dealt with in connection with cultural and political issues. Some examples include: the mimetic relation between fiction and world, identity formation, authority and power, intertextuality, form and affect, the sublime, mass media, hybridity, posthumanism, and the Anthropocene. Students will become familiar with internationally recognized forms of periodization, with the intrinsic relations between aesthetics, politics, and media; they will also get basic training in the analysis of different texts. In the process, they are offered a panoramic of the major contemporary theoretical approaches to literature, from structuralism to poststructuralism, cultural studies to queer theory to posthumanism, among others.
Course objectives
After having followed this course:
Students will acquire an overview of the history of literary theory and its corresponding periodization;
They are able to recognize different theoretical approaches to literature and to position themselves in relation to them;
They become knowledgeable about main concepts in literary theory and are they able to work with them;
They have practiced working together in order to foster both oral and written communication;
Theoretical concepts and methods of reading will allow students to work in an interdisciplinary field (literature in relation to philosophy, theology, political theory, history, art history) or an intermedial field (literature in relation to photography, film, radio, theatre, music etc.).
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Assessment method
Students will be:
Working with the material at home and in class where we are testing on a weekly basis whether the knowledge and skills needed are in place;
During the mid-term week, the students will work on a timed collaborative assignment (30%);
One group presentation on the readings and case studies assigned for that week (20%)
The course will be closed by an individual Remindo exam (50%)
Only the Remindo exam can be retaken as a re-sit. Participants in this course are eligible for the re-sit when the combined grade of the two assignments is lower than a 5.5.
Resit
Only the Remindo exam can be retaken as a re-sit. Participants in this course are eligible for the re-sit when the combined grade of the two assignments is lower than a 5.5.
Reading list
Not applicable
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact : Humanities Student Information Desk
Remarks
Not applicable