Theory’ can be intimidating; it seems to imply complicated texts, inaccessible language, and self-containment with little connection to our discussion of literary texts, films, or video games. And yet, theoretical assumptions guide our analyses, even if we are not always aware of them. Becoming aware of these assumptions and consciously applying them is central, for theory, as Jonathan Culler has explained, is ‘thinking about thinking’; it offers us angles for reading, but also ways of understanding, questioning, and reflecting our own assumptions about literature and other cultural practices. It is thus analytical – and it is interdisciplinary (Culler 14).
It is this understanding of theory that will guide this class. We will read exemplary theoretical texts that have had an impact on literary and cultural studies in the past sixty years, even though most of the texts were not formulated with literature in mind and offer no ‘method’ to approach literature, film, etc. In our engagement with these texts, we will combine the practice of close reading – how is the text structured? What kind of argument does it build? What is its starting point, implicitly or explicitly, what is its ‘agenda’? – with contextualization: what is the context of its emergence? What kinds of questions were theorists asking at a particular time and why? We will look at ‘classics’ of structuralism, poststructuralism, gender theory and postcolonialism, as well as more recent theoretical approaches, such as cultural memory studies, ecocriticism, or posthumanism and ask what kind of impact they might have on our conception and reading of literature and culture (an issue taken up more systematically in the Übung).
This class will be taught in a hybrid format, combining synchronous and asynchronous digital elements with on-site meetings. The extent of the latter will depend on pandemic-related regulations. We will discuss the details of course logistics in our first meeting, which will take place via zoom.
Students are asked to purchase a copy of Jonathan Culler’s Literary Theory. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 1997. All other texts will be provided on Digicampus.
Anmelderegeln
Diese Veranstaltung gehört zum Anmeldeset "Beschränkte Teilnehmendenanzahl: Theories and Methods".
Folgende Regeln gelten für die Anmeldung:
Die Anmeldung ist möglich von 06.09.2021, 08:00 bis 11.10.2021, 18:00.
Es wird eine festgelegte Anzahl von Plätzen in den Veranstaltungen verteilt.
Die Plätze in den betreffenden Veranstaltungen wurden am 13.10.2021 um 18:00 verteilt. Weitere Plätze werden evtl. über Wartelisten zur Verfügung gestellt.
