Fall semester
2014
LECTURE :
Introduction to Literary Studies
Instructor: Prof. Thomas Austenfeld, American Literature and Head of
English Domain
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Class description This class is mandatory for all BA-LET
students and highly recommended for all other beginning students. Together
with the PROSEMINAR “Introduction to Literary Studies,” which is offered at
different times in the schedule, the lecture is designed to provide students
with the material and the skills required for the academic study of English
and American literature. We will discuss literary genres from drama and
poetry to fiction and the non-fiction essay, basic questions of prosody and
narratology, and the requirements for academic research, writing, and
documentation in our discipline. Three sections of the proseminar will be offered; each section is strictly
limited to 30 students: ·
Fall semester 2014: Mondays 1:15 to 3:00, Dr. Vidya Ravi ·
Fall semester 2014: Tuesdays 3:15-5:00, Prof. Austenfeld ·
Spring semester 2015: Tuesdays 3:15-5:00, Prof. Austenfeld What do you need to do for the lecture? Read assigned materials before coming to class, study more
deeply after class, participate in all meetings, make connections between
lecture and proseminar, take a final exam on the last day of class. Grades Your grade in this class will
based on the result of the final exam. However, you are allowed only two
absences over the course of the semester. Materials and knowledge base: Abrams, M.H.,
Harpham, G.G. A Glossary of Literary Terms (please
note: this book is available in different versions and through different
venues; for sale, for rent, etc. I
will explain during the first class meeting how we will use it). The following books: available at Librophoros across the street). Dove, Rita. The Darker Face of the Earth Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time Hurston, Zora Neale.
Their Eyes Were Watching God E-text: Oedipus the King via Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31 Additional texts will be provided on the MOODLE site
associated with this class. |
Last edited
on September 23, 2014
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September 16 |
Introductory meeting
by Domain head for all new English students |
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September 23 |
Introduction to
Literary Studies: What is the purpose
of reading? How does fiction work? What we do when we
read literature. How to read a poem. How to read the
first paragraph of a prose text. ABRAMS: Genre, Literature, (Criticism), Interpretation
and hermeneutics, Motif and Theme, Style (approx. 13 pp) |
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September 30 |
Lecture by Dr. Vidya Ravi: Prose fiction Text: Ernest
Hemingway, In Our Time ABRAMS: Prose, Short Story, Symbol (approx. 7 pp) |
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October 7 |
Special Lecture by Professor Darlene Unrue:
The Art of Biography |
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October 14 |
The Novel Text: Zora Neale
Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God ABRAMS: Novel, Point of View, Narration (grammar of),
Narrative and Narratology, Stream of Consciousness (approx. 18 pp) |
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October 21 |
Various prose forms continued Texts: Nathaniel Hawthorne,
"Young Goodman Brown"
(MOODLE) W.D. Wetherell,
"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant." (MOODLE) (Hemingway continued
if desired.) ABRAMS: Allegory, Ambiguity, Fiction and Truth, Irony
(approx. 12 pp) |
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October 28 |
Classical Drama Text: Sophocles, Oedipus ABRAMS: Act and Scene, Chorus, Comedy, Decorum, Deus
ex Machina, Drama, Persona Tone and Voice, Plot, Setting, Soliloquy, Three unities,
Tragedy (approx.
23 pp) |
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November 4 |
Research skills and manuscript preparation, one |
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November 11 |
Poetry one: How do poems work? ABRAMS Lyric, Meter,
Imagery, Rhyme, Figurative Language,
Rhetorical Figures (approx. 22 pp) |
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November 18 |
Poetry two: what forms does poetry take? ABRAMS: Sonnet, Stanza (including
Villanelle and Sestina), Ode,
Heroic Couplet, Elegy, Ballad, Epic, Epigram, Haiku, Refrain (approx. 18 pp) |
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November 25 |
Poetry three: tricks of the trade ABRAMS: Blank Verse, Conceit, Connotation and
Denotation, Dramatic Monologue, Free Verse, Onomatopoeia, Poetic Diction (approx. 11 pp) |
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December 2 |
Modern Drama: Read: Rita Dove, The Darker Face of the Earth ABRAMS: epic
theater (1 pp) |
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December 9 |
Research skills and manuscript preparation, two: Formatting a paper,
writing with clarity and grace Review of material |
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December 16 |
Final exam: in-class |