2010-2011 BM1 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature
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".
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Courses
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Tutorials
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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:
- Useful Hints for Assignments
- Literary Studies:Writing academic texts - esp. for the research paper outline
Contents
- 1 Session One, Oct 27-28: Introduction.
- 2 Session Two, Nov 03-04: Analysing Poetry I: Poetic Conventions, Rhyme and Metre
- 3 Session Three, Nov 10-11: Analysing Poetry II: Figurative Speech
- 4 Session Four, Nov 17-18: Analysing Drama I: Rhetoric
- 5 Session Five, Nov 24-25: Analysing Drama II: Dramatic Communication and Plot Structure
- 6 Session Six, Dec 01-02: Analysing Drama III: Characterisation
- 7 Session Seven, Dec 08-09: Analysing Drama IV: Close Reading
- 8 Session Eight, Dec 15-16: Critical Debate and Literary Theory I
- 9 Session Nine, Jan 05-06: Analysing Narrative Fiction I: Narration and Focalisation
- 10 Session Ten, Jan 12-13: Analysing Narrative Fiction II: Characterisation
- 11 Session Eleven, Jan 19-20: Analysing Narrative Fiction III: Close Reading
- 12 Session Twelve, Jan 26-27: Critical Debate and Literary Theory II
- 13 Session Thirteen, Feb 02-03: Film Analysis: Themes and Techniques
- 14 Session Fourteen, Feb 09-10: RPO Projects
- 15 Further Reading
Session One, Oct 27-28: Introduction.
Welcome
- Introduction to the BM 1 Curriculum, Aims and Goals
- Introduction to the BM 1 Programme
Texts
- Poetry Reader includes:
- Sir Philip Sidney, "Loving in Truth" from Astrophil and Stella (1591)
- Sir Philip Sidney, "Not at first sight" from Astrophil and Stella (1591)
- William Percy, "Sonnet II" from Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia (1594)
- William Shakespeare, "Sonnet CXXX" from The Sonnets (1609)
- George Herbert, "The Deniall" (1633)
- William Wordsworth, "Scorn Not the Sonnet" (1827)
- Walt Whitman, "One's Self I Sing" (1867)
- Christina Rossetti, "I wish I could remember" from A Pageant and Other Poems (1881)
- Langston Hughes, "I, Too" (1925)
- 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
- Handout Analysing Poetry
- Sources: Culler 161-178; Ludwig, 31-33; Cambridge Companion to Literatures in English
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
- Handout: Figurative Speech
- Sources: Ludwig, 47-60; Leech, 147-157
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
- Handout: Rhetoric
- Sources: Plett 3-22, 102-105
- Excerpt from Plett
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
- Handout: Analysing Dramatic Communication
- Sources: Pfister 49 - 57, 86 - 94, 126 - 147
- Excerpt from Pfister
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
- Brief Overview of Theoretical Approaches and Movements
- Brief Overview of Theoretical Approaches and Movements, Variety A
- Major Theoretical Approaches and Movements in Relation to Wider Social Issues and
- Theory and the Wider Market of Debates - A First Draft
Texts
- Ina Schabert (Ed.), Das Shakespeare-Handbuch, 120-133 (Biography).
- Ina Schabert (Ed.), Das Shakespeare-Handbuch, 185-193 (Verfasserschaftstheorien).
- Ina Schabert (Ed.), Das Shakespeare-Handbuch, 196-243 (Editionsgeschichte).
- Michel Foucault, "What is an Author?". -- In Foucault's essay, concentrate on pages 108 - 113, where the four characteristics of the author function are discussed, and look especially at the third characteristic which is described on pages 110 and 111.
Skills and Activities
Theory and Critical Discussion. Secondary Material.
Session Nine, Jan 05-06: Analysing Narrative Fiction I: Narration and Focalisation
Analytical Tools
- Handout: Narratology
- Sources: Rimmon-Kenan, Chapter 6, 72-86
- Excerpt from Rimmon-Kenan
Texts
- Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness.
Skills and Activities
Narration, Focalization.
Session Ten, Jan 12-13: Analysing Narrative Fiction II: Characterisation
Analytical Tools
- Handout: Narratology
- Sources: Rimmon-Kenan, Chapter 5, 59-71
- Excerpt from Rimmon-Kenan
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
- Handout: Narratology
- Sources: Rimmon-Kenan, Chapter 5, 59-71, Rimmon-Kenan, Chapter 6, 72-86
- Excerpt from Rimmon-Kenan
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
- Brief Overview of Theoretical Approaches and Movements
- Brief Overview of Theoretical Approaches and Movements, Variety A
- Major Theoretical Approaches and Movements in Relation to Wider Social Issues and
- Theory and the Wider Market of Debates - A First Draft
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)
