seminar 1_intro (literary theory schools)

8/10/2019 Seminar 1_Intro (Literary Theory Schools)

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19 th Century American Literature - Seminar 1 Year 3 (B), Groups 1 & 2 3

Exercise I ! "atch the main tenets an# theorists in the ri$ht-han# co%umn to the Literary heory Schoo%s in the %e't-han# co%umn!

School of Literary Theory Main Tenet & Theorists

1. Aestheticism

2. Formalism & New

Criticism

. Str!ct!ralism & Semioticliterary criticism

". Mythocriticism

#. $sychoanalytic literarycriticism%$sychocriticism

. 'ea(er)res*onse

criticism

+. Neomarxism

,. $ostcolonialism

-. Feminism

1 . /econstr!ction

11. New 0istoricism

12. !eer Theory

1 . Ecocriticism

A. Literary or s are re%ate# to myths, archetypes an# mytho%o$ica% patterns, an#o'ten contain *ersions o' tra#itiona% mytho%o$ica% +$ures ( rometheus, rpheus, .eroan# Lean#er)! .ence, mythana%i/in$ %iterary or s e0uates ith e aminin$ the#esires, an ieties an# comp%e es o' the co%%ecti*e unconscious!

heorists Car% Gusta* un$ (4 sycho%o$y an# Literature5), oseph Camp6e%% (4 he.ero ith a housan# 7aces5), 8orthrop 7rye (4 he Archetypes o' Literature5),C%au#e L *i-Strauss, :ric Gou%# (4"ythica% ;ntentions in "o#ern Literature5)

. Literature is a 4per'ormin$ art5 inso'ar as it is the rea#ero6ert auss (4Literary .istory as a Cha%%en$e to Literary heory5),Stan%ey 7ish (4Literature in the >ea#er A?ecti*e Sty%istics5), @o%'$an$ ;ser, >o%an#Barthes

C. Literary or s #ea%in$ ith the topic o' nature posit place as ust as #e+nin$ asconcepts %i e class or gender , re*ise anthropocentrism an# humans< perception o'the 4 i%#erness5, an# ena6%e the emer$ence o' eco%o$ica% *a%ues an# an ecopoetics!

heorists @i%%iam >uec ert ( Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism ),Chery%% G%ot'e%ty an# .aro%# 7romm ( The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in LiteraryEcology )

/. Literary or s are pro#ucts o' the historica% perio# an# speci+c socia%, economican# po%itica% con#itions e perience# 6y their authors, there'ore they ha*e ani#eo%o$ica% 'unction as repositories o' po%itica% i#eas!

heorists @a%ter Ben amin (4 he Author as ro#ucer5), erry :a$%eton 4Criticism an#;#eo%o$y5, 4 he >ise o' :n$%ish5), 7re#ric ameson (4 he po%itics o' theory5, 4 n;nterpretation Literature as a Socia%%y Sym6o%ic Act5)

E. he %iterary te t is 6e%ie*e# to 6e a unitary structure in*este# ith an ori$ina%,authoria% meanin$! Yet in-#epth ana%ysis re*ea%s that it rests upon in+nitecontra#ictory meanin$s $enerate# 6y the re%ationship o' any $i*en or# to other

or#s in it! .ence, te ts support ena6%e se*era% (at times contra#ictory)interpretations!

heorists ac0ues erri#a (4Structure, Si$n an# %ay5), au% #e "an (4Semio%o$y an#>hetoric5), Bar6ara ohnson (4 he 7rame o' >e'erence5)

F. A %iterary or o' art is the resu%t o' an author


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a rich corpus o' 'eminine poetics ( ith its speci+c sym6o%ism, themes, tropes, etc!)! heorists Eir$inia @oo%' ( A Room of !ne"s !#n ), Simone #e Beau*oir (4 he Secon#Se 5), :%aine Sho a%ter (4 o ar#s a 7eminist oetics5), Germaine Greer ( The $emaleEunuch )

I. "eanin$ in %iterary te ts arises 'rom their connection to uni*ersa% (p%ot) structuresan# (%in$uistic) units! hese can 6e or$ani/e# into scienti+ca%%y e act system o'patterns, moti's, etc! here'ore, e perience# rea#ers ( ho are use# to i#enti'yin$structures in te ts) are more %i e%y to interpret them meanin$'u%%y than non-e perience# ones!

heorists >oman a o6son (4Lin$uistics an# oetics5, 4 he "etaphoric an#"etonymic o%es5), Gerar# Genette (4Structura%ism an# Literary Criticism5) /*etan

o#oro* (4 e+nition o' oetics5), onathan Cu%%er (4Structura%ist oetics5)

4. Literary or s re%ate# to territory con0uest an# e pansion re*ea% the strate$ies o'no %e#$e pro#uction an# contro%, socia% en$ineerin$ an# a#ministrati*e imposition

emp%oye# in co%oni/in$ enterprises a$ainst nati*e peop%es! As such, they (re)shapethe cu%tura% perception 'rame or here6y imperia% an# 4su6a%tern5 su6 ects *ie e#each other!

heorists 7rant/ 7anon ( The %retched of the Earth ), :# ar# Sai# ( !rientalism ),

Gayatri Spi*a (4Can the Su6a%tern Spea 5), .omi F! Bha6ha ( The Location ofulture )

5. Art is not suppose# to carry any po%itica%, socia%, mora% or other #i#actic purposes!;t shou%# 6e ma#e 'or its o n sa e (4L


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.a*e e the nationa% co%our!Can e stan# #itches!

Can e mean e%%!o e ta% to$ether!

.a*e e re# cross!A $reat many peop%e spea o' 'eet!

An# soc s!(Gertru#e Stein, 4America5)

1F 27 3; A K" MB N I 9. 1J: 11L 12G

seminar 1_intro (literary theory schools)

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