LFU:online

Students will gain a deep insight into literary theory and various schools of literary criticism. They will learn to apply different and also conflicting approaches to selected literary works as well as to reflect upon, discuss, and challenge these approaches.

Taking core texts from the reading list as starting point, this lecture will explore and discuss a wide range of different concepts in literary criticism and recent approaches in literary theory. Presenting various approaches to and also conflicting readings of selected works, it will reflect upon the significance and impact of different theories as well as of cultural and literary ‘turns’  on the study of literature: how do we contextualize our reading and to what extent do these different turns affect our interpretations of texts?

In the course of the semester, we will cover a broad range of literary theories and schools, including (though not limited to) structuralism, deconstruction, historicism, feminism, postcolonialism, postmodernism, intermediality, cognitive poetics, and ecocriticism, and discuss their impact on literary studies. Students will be expected to read selected texts prior to individual lectures. Literary works covered in this lecture will are based on the reading list. Further texts will be made available on OLAT at the beginning of the semester.

Lecture, reading assignments, (group) discussion

Written exam (on British drama) and oral exam (based on the core reading list)

Positive completion of first part of studies (1. Studienabschnitt).