| Module Identifier |
FRM0430 |
| Module Title |
APPROACHES TO TEXTS: INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY THEORY |
| Academic Year |
2005/2006 |
| Co-ordinator |
Dr Heather M Williams |
| Semester |
Semester 1 |
| Course delivery |
Lecture | |
| |
Seminars / Tutorials | |
| Assessment |
| Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
|---|
| Semester Exam | 3 Hours | 60% |
| Semester Assessment | Continuous Assessment: Essay of 5000 words on a set text | 40% |
|
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students will be able to:
-
articulate and understand the historical and philosophical context of the development of literary theory
-
describe the impact of key 'movements' in twentieth -century literary theory (Structuralism, Post-structuralism, Psychoanalysis) on the practice of literary criticism
-
explain relevant critical arguments developed around these key 'movements'
-
assess the relevance or usefulness of such theoretical work for producing their own literary criticism
Those students who wish to go on with their studies should be able to demonstrate that they have a solid foundation for postgraduate research
The learning outcomes above will be explicitly tested by the independent research, undertaken on the student' own personal initiative, and production of the essay. Both forms of assessment specifically consolidate developments and debates covered in the course. The 3-hour examination will be designed to test further the students' acquisition of the outcomes described.
Brief description
This module studies key movements in literary theory in the 20th Century, with special attention to France. Analysis of selected passages will provide students with a solid theoretical basis to inform their own projects and methodologies.
Aims
The aims of this module are to introduce students to a range of theoretical approaches to the stuidy of literature. To trace the main developments in twentieth-century literary theory, from Rusian Formalism to Structuralism and Post-structuralism, and psychoanalysis.
Reading Lists
Books
Culler, Jonathan (1983) On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after Structuralism
Routledge
Howells, Christina (1999) Derrida: Deconstruction from Phenomenology to Ethics
Polity
Norris, Christopher (1987) Derrida
Fontana Modern Masters
Ellman, Maude (ed) (1994) Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism
Longman
Freud, Sigmund Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, vol. 1
The Penguin Freud Library
Freud, Sigmund Art and Literature, vol. 1
The Penguin Freud Library
Lacan, Jacques 'The insistence of the letter in the unconscious' in Lodge, Modern Criticism and Theory
Laplanche and Pontalis (1988) The Language of Psychoanalysis
Karnac Books
Wright, Elizabeth (1993) Psychoanalytic Criticism: Theory in Practice
Routledge
Wright, Elizabeth (1999) Speaking Desires can be Dangerous: The Poetics of the Unconscious
Polity
Anderson, Benedict (1983/1991) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism
Verso
Culler, Jonathan (1985) Saussure
Fontana Modern Masters
Eagleton, Terry (1983) Literary Theory: An introduction
Blackwell
Jefferson, Ann, and David Robey (1982) Modern Literary Theory: A Comparative Introduction
Lodge, David (ed) (1988) Modern Criticism and Theory: A reader
Longman
Sturrock, John (ed) (1979) Structuralism and Since: From Levi Strauss to Derrida
Oxford University Press
Walder, Dennis (ed) (1990) Literature in the Modern World
Oxford University Press, in association with the Open University
Derrida, Jacques (1972) Marges de la philosophie
Minuit
Barthes, Roland (1978) Lecon
Seuil
Barthes, Roland (1953/1972) Le Degre zero de l'ecriture
Seuil
Barthes, Roland (1984) 'La mort de l'auteur' and 'De l'oeuvre au texte' in Le Bruissement de la langue: Essais critiques IV
Seuil
Derrida, Jacques (1967) 'Ce dangereaux supplement' in De la grammataologie
Derrida, Jacques (1967) 'La Structure, le signe et le jeu dans le discours des sciences humaines' in L'Ecriture et la difference
Seuil
Bhabha, Homi K. (ed) (1990) Nation and Narration
Routledge
Bhabha, Homi K. (1994) The Location of culture
Routledge
Cairns, David and Shaun Richards (1988) Writing Ireland: Colonialisn, nationalism and culture
Manchester University Press
Hobsbawm, Eric and Terence Ranger (ed) The Invention of Tradition
Cambridge University Press, 1983 (reprinted Canto, 1992
Said, Edward W. (1978) Orientalism
Penguin
Thomas, M. Wynn (1999) Corresponding Cultures: The two literatures of Wales
University of Wales Press
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (eds) (1989) The Empire Writes Back: Theory and practice in post-colonial literatures
Routledge
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (eds) (1995) The Post-colonial studies reader
Routledge
Bowie, Malcolm (1991) Lacan
Fontana Modern Masters
Derrida, Jacques (1972) 'La Double Seance' in La Dissemination
Seuil
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7