2010-2011 BM1 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature

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Please note: The BM1 (literature) and BM2 (culture) modules consist of a seminar and a tutorial each. All students beginning in the winter term 2010/11 need to enroll for one of the tutorials called "Reasearch Methods". Additionally, you will choose between a seminar under BM 1 (literature) or BM 2 (culture) for the winter term and then study the other one in the summer term. In the summer term you will enroll for the second tutorial, "Exploring History and Theory".


Courses

  • 3.02.011 Course A - Christian Lassen Mi, 16:00 - 18:00 Raum A01 0-006
  • 3.02.012 Course B - Christian Lassen Do, 12:00 - 14:00 Raum A13 0-027
  • 3.02.013 Course C - Michaela Keck Mi, 12:00 - 14:00 Raum S2-206
  • 3.02.014 Course D - Daniel Sip Do, 08:00 - 10:00 Raum A01 0-004

Tutorials

  • 3.02.016 TU Research Methods Mo, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Tanja Withey) Raum: A04 5-516
  • 3.02.017 TU Research Methods Di, 12:00 - 14:00 (Tutorin: Britta Simon) Raum: A10 1-121
  • 3.02.018 TU Research Methods Mi, 18:00 - 20:00 (Tutor: Sören Niewint) Raum: A07 0-031
  • 3.02.026 TU Research Methods Do, 10:00 - 12:00 (Tutor: Frederik Bockmann) Raum: A01 0-010
  • 3.02.027 TU Research Methods Di, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Sarah Göbert) Raum: A07 0-025
  • 3.02.028 TU Research Methods Mo, 18:00 - 20:00 (Tutor: Sharif Bitar) Raum: A07 0-025
  • 3.02.029 TU Research Methods Fr, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Sarah Berres) Raum: A10 1-121a

The seminar part of the Basismodul 1 focuses on techniques of textual analysis in the context of discussing literature. We are offering four parallel courses. Please make sure that you are registered under ONE of these in Stud.IP and open a wiki account which will enable you to participate in online discussions.

All parallel courses have a common structure. The texts for our courses will come from a common pool, though each course may have a different choice.

The "analytical tools" will be presented by the lecturers (on a handout) in each meeting. The additional reading from which these 'tools' are taken is not obligatory, and it can be done either before or after each session.

Both the texts and the other materials will be made accessible to you electronically (cf. the links below). In addition you will need to purchase two books.

Courses A-D:

  • William Shakespeare. The Tempest. Eds. Virginia Vaughan and Alden Vaughan. London: A & C Black (3rd Series), 2001.
  • Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Paul B. Armstrong. New York, London: Norton, 2006.

Course work: You will be asked to hand in three assignments (max. 3 pages, due on Friday in week 4, 8 and 12 respectively) and produce a Research Paper Outline (2 pages, due on Feb 28). The assignments are to be formatted according to the style sheet, and will require you to analyse poetry, drama and fiction respectively. For the Research Paper Outline you will need to find your own topic to work on and document the preliminary work (this includes finding an appropriate title, writing a paragraph on the state of the art of your problem and one that describes your problem and your goal, and presenting a tentative table of contents as well as a short bibliography).


Two useful links for all assignments:


Session One, Oct 27-28: Introduction.

Welcome

Texts

  1. Sir Philip Sidney, "Loving in Truth" from Astrophil and Stella (1591)
  2. Sir Philip Sidney, "Not at first sight" from Astrophil and Stella (1591)
  3. William Percy, "Sonnet II" from Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia (1594)
  4. William Shakespeare, "Sonnet CXXX" from The Sonnets (1609)
  5. George Herbert, "The Deniall" (1633)
  6. William Wordsworth, "Scorn Not the Sonnet" (1827)
  7. Walt Whitman, "One's Self I Sing" (1867)
  8. Christina Rossetti, "I wish I could remember" from A Pageant and Other Poems (1881)
  9. Langston Hughes, "I, Too" (1925)
  10. e.e. Cummings, "Pity This Busy Monster, Manunkind" (1944)

Skills and Activities

Preliminaries for seminar communication.

Session Two, Nov 03-04: Analysing Poetry I: Poetic Conventions, Rhyme and Metre

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Poetry Reader

Skills and Activities

Structural approach to poetry: communicative situation, themes, metrics and language. Acquire a basic checklist of what to look (first) for in a poem. Recapitulate the basics of metrics and rhyme patterns. Recognise the features of a particular genre and genre conventions: the sonnet.

Session Three, Nov 10-11: Analysing Poetry II: Figurative Speech

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Poetry Reader

Skills and Activities

Figurative language, interplay. Spot metaphors, similes, etc. the metric pattern and valorise the points where it is broken. Reinforce basic checklist of previous week. Analyse particular features of poetic language (figures of speech, metrical effects).

    Assignment I: Poetry (distributed on Nov 12, due on Nov 19)

Session Four, Nov 17-18: Analysing Drama I: Rhetoric

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. The Tempest.

Skills and Activities

A speech from the Shakespeare play

Session Five, Nov 24-25: Analysing Drama II: Dramatic Communication and Plot Structure

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. The Tempest.

Skills and Activities

Dramatic Structures and Communication; Exposition.

Session Six, Dec 01-02: Analysing Drama III: Characterisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. The Tempest.

Skills and Activities

Characters and Genre Aspects.

Session Seven, Dec 08-09: Analysing Drama IV: Close Reading

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. The Tempest.

Skills and Activities

Close Reading

[assignment 1 returned]

   Assignment II: Drama (distributed on Dec 10, due on Dec 17)

Session Eight, Dec 15-16: Critical Debate and Literary Theory I

History and Variety of Editions of Shakespeare's The Tempest, History of scholarly and public interest in Shakespeare as a person and an author, Postmodern conceptions of text and authorship

Material

Texts

Skills and Activities

Theory and Critical Discussion. Secondary Material.

Session Nine, Jan 05-06: Analysing Narrative Fiction I: Narration and Focalisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness.

Skills and Activities

Narration, Focalization.

Session Ten, Jan 12-13: Analysing Narrative Fiction II: Characterisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness.

Skills and Activities

Characterisation

[assignment 2 returned]

Session Eleven, Jan 19-20: Analysing Narrative Fiction III: Close Reading

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness.

Skills and Activities

Close Reading

   Assignment III: Fiction (distributed on Jan 21, due on Jan 28)

Session Twelve, Jan 26-27: Critical Debate and Literary Theory II

Material

Texts

  • [to be announced.]

Skills and Activities

Theory and Critical Discussion. Secondary Material.

  Film Screening: Francis Ford Coppola (dir.), Apocalypse Now (1979 film)
  Time/Date: 27.01.2011 20:00-22:00 Venue: A11 Hörsaal B

Session Thirteen, Feb 02-03: Film Analysis: Themes and Techniques

Analytical Tools

  • Handout: Film Analysis
  • Sources: David Bordwell et al.; Korte, Einführung in die Systematische Filmanalyse (2000)

Texts

  • Francis Ford Coppola (dir.). Apocalypse Now.

Skills and Activities

Spectacle, Narratives and Fiction. Film Analysis. [Fiction worksheet]

Session Fourteen, Feb 09-10: RPO Projects

Skills and Activities

Brief Report on 'Work in Progress': Your Term Paper Projects

[assignment 3 returned]

     Assignment 4: Term Paper Projects (due on Feb 28)

Further Reading