| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Elective | SUS1EN232 | 4 |
Semester and Year Offered: 1st Semester (Monsoon Semester 2020)
Course Coordinator and Team: Dr. Kopal and Mr. Sayandeb Chowdhury
Email of course coordinator: kopal[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in
Pre-requisites: None
Aim: Introduction to Literary and Cultural Forms is envisaged as a course which will introduce students to literary and cultural studies. The course will discuss issues fundamental to the study of literature – the meaning of literature; its relation to other disciplines; the politics of genre and canon; the nature of the ‘text’; and the study of various literary and cultural forms. The literary structure/form chosen by an author is influenced by a number of factors. At the same time it influences certain aspects outside the purview of the literary or cultural act. Also, factors like readership, publication, production and reception of the text contribute to its meaning. It will include a study of the forms within various genres such as poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction, music, visual arts and oral traditions through some representative texts and critical readings. The course will also address the changes in literature and literary forms amidst multiculturalism and the digital revolution.
Brief description of modules/ Main modules:
1. Introduction: This introductory module will discuss the role and relevance of literature in society. It will also investigate the changing forms of literature, concepts such as text, and canon.Hudson, William Henry.“Some Ways of Studying Literature”. An Introduction to the Study of Literature. Delhi: Atlantic, 2006. Culler, Jonathan. “What is literature and does it matter?”Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. New York: OUP, 2000 (1997) _____________. “Literature and Culture Studies”. Literary Theory: A Very Short
Introduction. New York: OUP, 2000 (1997). Wellek, René &Austin Warren. “The Nature of Literature”. Theory of Literature. London: Lowe and Brydone, 1954 (1949). Wellek, René & Austin Warren. “The Function of Literature”. Theory of Literature. London: Lowe and Brydone, 1954 (1949).
2. Drama: The module will discuss the genre of drama and its many forms. One of the forms of drama will be discussed in detail through a representative text. Sophocles. “Oedipus the King”. An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12th edn. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001. Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12th edn. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001. Wilde, Oscar. “Importance of Being Earnest”. Collected Works of Oscar Wilde. Wordsworth Editions, 1997.
3. Poetry: This module deals with poetry. Some of the main characteristics of poetry and how it differs from drama will be looked into. Some important forms of poetry as well as poetic devices will be discussed with examples. Any 5-6 poems from the following will be discussed in detail in class. Some other poems will be used to explain figures of speech, metre and other stylistic features. Anonymous. Demon Lover. Poemhunter.com. Web. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-demon-lover/>. Bronte. Emily. “Spellbound.” An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12th edn. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001. Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess.” My Last Duchess and Other Poems. Ed. Shane Weller. Dover Publications, 1993. Burns, Robert. “My Love is like a Red Red Rose.” An Introduction to Literature:
Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12th edn. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001. Dickinson, Emily. “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass.” An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12th edn. Eds. SylvanBarnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001. Hardy, Thomas. “The Man He Killed.” The Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy. Wordsworth Editions, 1994. Homer, The Iliad. Penguin Books, 1991.
Hughes, Langston. “Dinner Guest: Me.” Poemhunter.com <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dinner-guest-me/>. Keats, John. “Ode to a Nightingale”. The Oxford book of English verse, 1250– 1900. Ed. Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch. Clarendon, 1919
“Ode on a Grecian Urn”. The Oxford book of English verse, 1250 – 1900. Ed.Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch. Clarendon, 1919. Plath, Sylvia. “Metaphors.” An Introduction to Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 12thedn. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Haunted Palace”. Poemhunter.com <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-haunted-palace>. Sappho. “Aphrodite”. The Poems of Sappho. Pacific Publishing Studio, 2011. Shakespeare. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 5th edn. Vol 1. Ed. M H Abrams. W W Norton & Company, 1986. Szymborska, Wislawa. “The Terrorist, He’s Watching.” Poems: New and Collected 1957-1997. Tr. Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh. Harcourt, 1998. Whitman, Walt. “When I Heard the Learned Astronomer.” An Introduction Barnet, et al. Pearson Longman, 2001.
4.Fiction and Non-fiction: The module broadly covers the various important aspects of fiction and non-fiction. Different genres of fiction such as short story, novel, graphic novel etc will be taken up for discussion. Forms of nonfiction such as travel writing, speech, biography, memoir etc will be dealt with. One or two forms of fiction and non-fiction will be taken up for detailed reading
(In addition to these four modules, any one of the following modules will be done)
5. Music: This module examines music as a cultural text.
6. Cinema: This module investigates cinema as a social and cultural text.
7. Visual Art: Some paintings will be read as text in this module.
Assessment Details with weights:
S.No | Assessment | Date/period in which Assessment will take place | Weightage |
1 | Mid Semester Exam | As per academic calendar | 30% |
2 | Assignment | Mid September – Mid november | 30% |
3 | End Semester Exam | As per academic calendar | 40% |
