Introduction to Literary Studies 1

obligatory courses

Students should have a command of English at (at least) B2+ level.

The first part of the course being an obligatory requirement in the first year of English studies, BA cycle.

The course as a whole is designed to be an introduction into the basic procedures necessary for academic study of literature. The aim is to equip the student with the preliminary terminology allowing to critically approach literature and to introduce some of the basic framework enabling one to cope with the more advanced nature of the courses chosen by the student henceforth. The course is usually divided into three broad sections dealing with poetry, drama and the narrative genres.

The first part of the course being an obligatory requirement in the first year of English studies.

The course as a whole is designed to be an introduction into the basic procedures necessary for academic study of literature. The aim is to equip the student with the preliminary terminology allowing to critically approach literature and to introduce some of the basic framework enabling one to cope with the more advanced nature of the courses chosen by the student henceforth. The course is usually divided into three broad sections dealing with poetry, drama and the narrative genres. In the section devoted to poetry the student is introduced to the principles of scansion and meters, as well as to the basic set of terms concerning poetic devices and genres which enable to define a wide range of phenomena encountered in the study of poetry. Subsequently some chosen poems are discussed which serves as an opportunity to practice the analytical skills. In the section which is concerned with drama one commences with a thorough discussion of Aristotle's Poetics and subsequently the course's overrinding objective is to supplement the introduction to the Elizabethan theatre which happens in the History of English Literature classes at around the same time. Thus more of the cultural and social background of the sixteenth century theatre is discussed and the three Elizabethan plays also discussed in the History classes are analysed from the point of view of the interaction of the medieval and Renaissance theatrical conventions. Finally the student is introduced to the basic terminology and analytical procedures from the field of narratology and following this chosen specimens of narrative works are discussed in order to test the acquired knowledge in practice.

Paul Fussell, Poetic Meter and Poetic Form (fragmenty)Sh. Rimmon-Kennan, Narrative Fiction (fragmenty)Aristotle, Poetics (fragmenty)Oraz teksty wybrane przez poszczególnych prowadzących

Having completed the course, students will acquire and/or develop the skills, knowledge and competence in the following areas:

Knowledge:

The course participant will:

- know the terminology applied in British literary studies;

- have a developed awareness of the role of symbols and their role in understanding culture and reading literary texts;

Skills:

The course participant will:

- know how to interpret, analyze, synthesize and summarize his or her knowledge of British culture and literature in its linguistic, cultural, social and historical dimension;

- be able to apply definitions and terms for the purpose of the analysis and discussion based on literary text;

In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.

Social Competence:

The course participant will:

- be aware of the social and cultural importance of the knowledge of British literature;

- learn how to respect and study the European literary tradition and cultural heritage,

No more than three absences are acceptable.

The criteria and the format of the final test and the retake are specified by the course instructor.