2008-09 BM1 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature, Part 1
See also: BM1:Curriculum for more information about what the BM1 wants to achieve and the specific course requirements.
- 3.02.012 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course A - Anton Kirchhofer - Di 10-12 - A1 0-004
- 3.02.013 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course B - Anna Auguscik Mi 12-14 - A1 0-009
- 3.02.014 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course C - Olaf Simons - Di 14-16 - HS F
- 3.02.015 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course D - Olaf Simons - Thu 16-18
- 3.02.016 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course E - Annika McPherson - Fr 14-16 - A06 0-001
- 3.02.017 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course F - Annika McPherson - Fr 12-14 - A01 0-006
- 3.02.018 Introduction to the Critical and Scholarly Discussion of Literature Part 2 - Course F - Katharina Schneider - Blockseminar
- 3.02.019 Tutorien - 2 N.N.
The first part of the Basismodul focuses on techniques of textual analysis in the context of discussing literature. We are offering five parallel courses (supported by tutorials). 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. You will find information relating to your course under the individual course number and lecturer.
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) and as a master copy at Wersig. In addition you will need to purchase two books.
Course work: You will be asked to hand in three assignments (in week 4, 7 and 11 respectively) and produce a Research Paper Outline (due March 06 2009). The assignments are limited to a max. of 2-3 pages of text, 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 that describes your problem and your goal, and presenting a tentative table of contents as well as a short bibliography).
Tutorials will help you to practise your analysis skills and support you in doing your assignments and Research Paper Outline.
Two useful links for all assignements:
- Survive Assignments
- Literary Studies:Writing academic texts - good for the research paper outline
Contents
- 1 Session 14-Oct: A Poem
- 2 Session 21-Oct: Poetry and Poetics
- 3 Session 28-Oct: Poetry and Poetics: Speaking about Beautiful/Artful Language
- 4 Session 04-Nov: Rhetoric
- 5 Session 11-Nov: Drama: Dramatic Structures
- 6 Session 18-Nov: Drama: Dramatic Communication
- 7 Session 25-Nov: Drama: Characters and Genre Aspects
- 8 Session 02-Dec: Drama and Fiction
- 9 Session 09-Dec: Fiction 1
- 10 Session 16-Dec: Fiction 2
- 11 Session 06-Jan: Film
- 12 Session 13-Jan: Film
- 13 Session 20-Jan: Beyond the Literary Text
- 14 Session 27-Jan: Term Paper Projects
Session 14-Oct: A Poem
Texts
Skills and Activities
Group work with presentations:
- What is poetic about this poem?
- What are the themes of the poem?
- What historical contexts?
- What is its cultural significance (then and later/now)?
Seminar discussion: What discourses did you employ? What traditions do they belong to? How does this relate back to the lecture of the Winter Term? Survey of the coming term.
Session 21-Oct: Poetry and Poetics
Analytical Tools
- Handout Analysing Poetry 1
- Sources: Culler 161-178; Ludwig, 31-33; Cambridge Companion to Literatures in English
Texts
- Sir Philip Sidney, "Not at first sight" from Astrophil and Stella
- Sir Philip Sidney, "Loving in Truth" from Astrophil and Stella
- William Percy, "Sonnet II" from Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia
- William Shakespeare, "Sonnet CXXX" from The Sonnets
- William Wordsworth, "Scorn Not the Sonnet"
- Walt Whitman, "One's Self I Sing"
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti, "The Sonnet" from The House of Life
- Christina Rossetti, "I wish I could remember" from A Pageant and Other Poems
- Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
- Langston Hughes, "I, Too"
- Emily Dickinson, "This was a Poet"
- e.e. cummings, "pity this busy monster, manunkind"
and
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 28-Oct: Poetry and Poetics: Speaking about Beautiful/Artful Language
Analytical Tools
- Ludwig, 47-60
- Leech, 147-157
- Handout: Figurative Speech
Texts
- George Herbert. "The Deniall" The Temple. Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations. University of Cambridge, T. Buck and R. Daniel, 1633.
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 (Due: 04-Nov)
Session 04-Nov: Rhetoric
Analytical Tools
Texts
- Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (1623) EEBO
Skills and Activities
A speech from the Shakespeare play [assignment 1 due]
Session 11-Nov: Drama: Dramatic Structures
Analytical Tools
Pfister 49 - 57, 86 - 94, 126 - 147 Excerpt from Pfister
Handout: Analysing Dramatic Communication
Texts
- Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (1623) EEBO
Skills and Activities
Exposition [assignment 1 returned]
Session 18-Nov: Drama: Dramatic Communication
Analytical Tools
Pfister 49 - 57, 86 - 94, 126 - 147 Excerpt from Pfister
Handout: Analysing Dramatic Communication
Texts
- Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (1623) EEBO
Skills and Activities
Session 25-Nov: Drama: Characters and Genre Aspects
Analytical Tools
Texts
- Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (1623) EEBO
Skills and Activities
Assignment II: Drama (Due: Dec 02)
Session 02-Dec: Drama and Fiction
Analytical Tools
- Aristotle, The Art of Poetry, trans. Dacier (1705)
- Pierre Daniel Huet, Traitté de l’origine des romans (1670)
- Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, Art of Poetry (1687)
Texts
- Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
Skills and Activities
An understanding of genres in the context of traditional poetics, and of the transition from poetic genres to literary genres. [assignment 2 due]
Session 09-Dec: Fiction 1
Analytical Tools
Handout: Narratology
Texts
- Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
Skills and Activities
Narration, Focalisation. [assignment 2 returned]
Session 16-Dec: Fiction 2
Analytical Tools
Handout: Narratology
Texts
- Stevenson, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
Film showing: Dec 16, 2008
Watch Fight Club with your peers and teachers
- Venue: HS 2
- Time: 19.45-22.15
Assignment III: Fiction (Due: 06-Jan)
Session 06-Jan: Film
Analytical Tools
- Handout: Film Analysis
- David Bordwell et al.; Korte, Einführung in die Systematische Filmanalyse (2000)
Texts
- David Fincher, Fight Club (1999)
Skills and Activities
Spectacle, Narratives and Fiction. Film Analysis.
Session 13-Jan: Film
Analytical Tools
- Handout: Film Analysis
- David Bordwell et al.; Korte, Einführung in die Systematische Filmanalyse (2000)
Texts
- David Fincher, Fight Club (1999)
Skills and Activities
Spectacle, Narratives and Fiction. Film Analysis. [assignment 3 due]
Session 20-Jan: Beyond the Literary Text
Analytical Tools
Texts
Editions and Materials relating to Anthony and Cleopatra
Skills and Activities
Literary Analysis and non-literary materials, [assignment 3 returned]
Session 27-Jan: Term Paper Projects
Skills and Activities
Brief Report on 'Work in Progress': Your Term Paper Projects
Term Paper Projects (Due: Mar 06)