Course: Theory of literary Interpretation

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Course title Theory of literary Interpretation
Course code KAA/TELI
Organizational form of instruction Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Peprník Michal, prof. PhDr. Dr.
Course content
Syllabus 1. Classical period - Aristotle: Poetics - Shakespeare: Hamlet 2. FORMALISM (The New Criticism) - Shakespeare: Hamlet - Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown" 3. STRUCTURALISM (Jan Mukařovský) - Ferdinand de Saussure: "Nature of the Linguistic Sign" - Jan Mukařovský: "On Structuralism" - K. J. Erben: "Goldenhair" (O Zlatovlásce), J. and W. Grimm: "The Little Red Cap" 4. NARRATOLOGY (Vladimir Propp, Seymour Chatman, Manfred Jahn) - Lubomír Doležel: "Subjectivization of the narrative" Jahn, Manfred. 2021. Narratology 2.3: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative. 1-26. 5. PSYCHOLOGICAL APROACH - Sigmund Freud: "Creative Writers and Day-dreaming," 6. MYTH AND ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM (J. G. Frazer, Northrop Frye, Joseph Campbell) - Joseph Campbell: A Hero of Thousand Faces, Part 1 7. POSTSTRUCTURALISM, DECONSTRUCTION (Derrida, Foucault) - Michel Foucault: The Order of Discourse 8. FEMINISM - Hélene Cixous: Sorties [an extract], Modern Criticism, 286-293. - Juliet Mitchell: "Femininity, narrative and psychoanalysis," - Elaine Showalter: "Feminist criticism in the wilderness," 330-353. - Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre or Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights 9. Postcolonial Criticism (E. Said, G. Spivak) - Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: "Can the Subaltern Speak?" Edward Said: Introduction to Orientalism (1978), part 2-3, 12-36, 300-310. 10. Ecocriticism Texts for analysis: - Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown" - William Shakespeare: Hamlet - Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights or Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
  • Attendace - 24 hours per semester
  • Homework for Teaching - 66 hours per semester
  • Semestral Work - 10 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The course provides an introduction to the major 20th-century approaches to literary interpretation and their methods (Plato, Aristotle, formalism, structuralism, narratology, archetypal and myth criticism, psychoanalytical approach, poststructuralism and deconstruction, postcolonialism, feminism, ecocriticism). The explication of theories is always followed by their application to several core texts of English and American literature.
General understanding of the main approaches to literary interpretation in the 20th century. Deeper understanding of the relationship between text and context. Acquisition of various methods of literary interpretation and a competence in practical applications of those methods on selected texts of American literature. Ability to critically assess the individual approaches, its advantages and shortcomings.
Prerequisites
A literary course during BA or MA studies.

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam, Essay

- essay written in the classroom during the last week (choice of one of three topics). Using the interpretive approach from the seminar program, interpret one of the literary texts from the seminar program. - good knowledge of all the assigned texts (the knowledge can be tested by means of short inclass papers) - attendance (maximum two absences)
Recommended literature
  • Culler, Jonathan. (2011). Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP.
  • Guerin, Wilfred et al. (2010). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Oxford UP.
  • Newton, Kenneth M. (2008). Jak interpretovat text. Praha.
  • Peprník, Michal. (2004). Směry literární interpretace XX. století. Olomouc.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2019) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies, Specialization Chinese Language and Culture (2019) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies (2019) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English for Translators and Interpreters (2024) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2024) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2024) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English for Translators and Interpreters (2019) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2019) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2019) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies, Specialization Japanese Language and Culture (2019) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies, Specialization Vietnamese Language and Culture (2019) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies, Specialization Korean Language and Culture (2019) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2024) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Asian Studies, Specialization Indonesian Language and Culture (2019) Category: Philological sciences - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): English Philology (2020) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: -