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

Tutorials

  • 3.02.016.1 TU Exploring History and Theory Mi, 12:00 - 14:00 (Tutor: Sören Niewint) Raum: A05 0-055
  • 3.02.016.2 TU Exploring History and Theory Do, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Sarah Berres) Raum: A07 0-031
  • 3.02.016.3 TU Exploring History and Theory Di, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutor: Sharif Bitar) Raum: A10 1-121a
  • 3.02.016.4 TU Exploring History and Theory Fr, 16:00 - 18:00 (Tutor: Frederik Bockmann) Raum: A10 1-121a
  • 3.02.026.1 TU Exploring History and Theory Mo, 14:00 - 16:00 (Tutorin: Sarah Göbert) Raum: A13 0-006
  • 3.02.026.2 TU Exploring History and Theory Mo, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Tanja Withey) Raum: A10 1-121a
  • 3.02.026.3 TU Exploring History and Theory Fr, 08:00 - 10:00 (Tutorin: Katharina Bieloch) 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. Richard II. Ed. Charles R. Forker. The Arden Shakespeare, 3rd series. London: A & C Black, 2002.
  • Robert Louis Stevenson. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ed. Katherine Linehan. New York, London: Norton, 2003.

Course work: You will be asked to hand in three assignments (max. 3 pages, due on May 6th, May 27th and July 1st respectively) and produce a Research Paper Outline (2 pages, due on August 15th). 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, April 07: 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, April 14: 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, April 21: 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 April 22, due on May 06)

Session Four, May 05: Analysing Drama I: Rhetoric

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. Richard II (1595).

Skills and Activities

A speech from the Shakespeare play

Session Five, May 12: Analysing Drama II: Dramatic Communication and Plot Structure

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. Richard II (1595).

Skills and Activities

Dramatic Structures and Communication; Exposition.

Session Six, May 19: Analysing Drama III: Characterisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • William Shakespeare. Richard II (1595).

Skills and Activities

Characters and Genre Aspects.

[assignment 1 returned]

   Assignment II: Drama (distributed on May 20, due on May 27) 

Session Seven, May 26: Critical Debate and Literary Theory I

History and Variety of Editions of Shakespeare's Richard II, 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 Eight, June 09: Analysing Fiction I: Narration and Focalisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Robert Louis Stevenson. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).

Skills and Activities

Narration, Focalization.

Session Nine, June 16: Analysing Fiction II: Characterisation

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Robert Louis Stevenson. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).

Skills and Activities

Characterisation.

Session Ten, June 23: Analysing Fiction III: Close Reading

Analytical Tools

Texts

  • Robert Louis Stevenson. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).

Skills and Activities

Close Reading

[assignment 2 returned]

   Assignment III: Fiction (distributed on June 24, due on July 01) Please find the assignment in your Stud.IP group.

Session Eleven, June 30: Critical Debate and Literary Theory II

Material

Texts

Skills and Activities

Theory and Critical Discussion. Secondary Material.

  Film Screening: David Fincher (dir.), Fight Club (1999 film)
  Time/Date: 06.07.2011 20-22 Uhr A14 1-103

Session Twelve, July 07: Film Analysis: Themes and Techniques

Analytical Tools

Monaco, James. How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art. An Introduction. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Korte, Helmut: Einführung in die Systematische Filmanalyse. Ein Arbeitsbuch. 3. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 2004.

Texts

  • David Fincher (dir.). Fight Club (1999).

Skills and Activities

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

Session Thirteen, July 14: RPO Projects

Skills and Activities

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

[assignment 3 returned]

     Assignment 4: Research Paper Outline (due on August 15)

Further Reading