Introduction to the literary theory and culture

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

1. to introduce students to the characteristics of literary and cultural studies: their aims, objects of inquiry, methodologies, sources

2. to introduce students to the nature of the evolution of the two disciplines and to the notion of paradigm shift

3. to introduce students to the basic concepts of the two disciplines and to the terminology

4. to teach students the nature of the influence of cultural studies on literary studies

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

none

Syllabus

Contents of the course

 

1. the rise of literary studies and the evolution of the concept of literature: F'R. Leavis's conceptualisation of the studies, Austin Warren and Rene Wellek's creation of the theory of literature, theory revolution in 1970s, the difference between theory of literature and literary theory

 

2. the rise and development of cultural studies and the notion of culture: the definition of culture in Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy, the redefinition of culture in Raymond Williams's Long Revolution and the rise of modern cultural studies

 

3. the influence of cultural studies on literary studies: from aesthetic value to power struggle, the deconstruction of the canon

 

4. theories of the relation between culture and power: Frankfurt School, Mikhail Bakhtin's notion of the carnivalesque, Michel de Certeau's and John Fiske's theories of cultural consumption, Pierre Burdieu's theory of the role of culture in social life

 

Form:

 

lecture

 

Evaluation:

 

written exam

 

 

 

 

Reading list

Barker Chris and Emma A. Jane. 2016. Cultural Studies. Theory and Practice. (5th edition.) Sage Publications Ltd.

Di Leo, Jeffrey R. 2023. Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory. Bloomsbury Academic.

Easthope, Antony. 1991.  Literary into Cultural Studies. Routledge.

Habib, M.A.R. 2005.  A History of Literary Criticism. From Plato to the Present. Blackwell Publishing.

Richter H. David (ed.). 2018. A Companion to Literary Theory. Wiley Blackwell.

Storey, John. 2024. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. An Introduction. Tenth edition. Routledge.

Waugh, Patricia. 2006. Literary Theory and Criticism. Oxford University Press.