SHS: Current literary theory and discourse analysis for medievalists

‘Modern literary theory’ – usually with an emphasis on the modern that is just as evocative as elusive – and ‘discourse analysis’ continue to divide medievalists (and historians more generally). For some, they seem to be the cure of many if not all diseases, invested with almost magical powers; for others, they essentially herald the end of historical research proper, a betrayal of the ultimate idea of finding out ‘what really happened’. Some treat these theories as if they were divinely approved doctrines, and accordingly feel the need to preserve them in a pure, pristine version; some use them for mere name-dropping and academic prancing; others prefer a more inclusive, eclectic approach, thinking of the array of modern theories as an assorted tool-box from which to pick the one(s) that best seem(s) to fit the proposed research question (on a case-to-case basis). Literary theory, or rather theory in general, can be a convenient means of linking your own particular research to wider intellectual currents and trends, and make sure that your work can be comprehended by practitioners of not only neighbouring, but also more distant disciplines.

In any case there should be no illusion that whenever we read, we will draw on a set of assumptions (spoken and unspoken, digested and half-digested), even if we imagine to be autonomous intellectual beings. Quite often, the term ‘close reading’ is evoked in such contexts; as Terry Eagleton aptly remarked: ‘Hostility to theory usually means an opposition ot other people’s theory and an oblivion of one’s own.’

The first step, then, naturally ought to be to acquaint oneself with the theoretical approaches and ideas currently available, as well as to historicize them to the degree that one understands their emergence from the changing twentieth-century intellectual fashions and currents to/against which they reacted, as well as the reactions they sparked. This can be quite a challenge for younger scholars entering the field.

Given the instructor’s field of expertise, most practical examples advanced by him – in order to illustrate how these theories function – will come from ancient and medieval Greek literature. However, participants are positively encouraged to think of, and bring to class, examples from their respective fields of expertise and interest: this will provide us with a promisingly wide material basis, and help us consider one crucial question: whether these modern theories and concepts are indeed applicable to medieval literature (in its widest possible sense).

Goals

The class will provide guidance for those embracing the challenge of acquainting themselves with literary theory and discourse analysis. The very least this six-week SHS aspires to achieve is to make participants aware of the manifold assumptions and currents that inform every act of reading and interpretation. Even if you do not wish to actually employ any of the theories and methodologies introduced to you in this class, you might still like to arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of what you’re actually doing when ‘reading’ and ‘interpreting’ medieval or (early) modern texts.

Format

Each session will be introduced by a brief keynote lecture provided by the instructor, highlighting the most important concepts and ideas of the theory under discussion. Subsequently, the weekly reading assignment will be discussed; participants are actively encouraged to note passages they find difficult to understand and jot down questions for discussion when preparing for class. While reading assignments will not always be drawn from the original theoretical texts participants are strongly encouraged to sample the latter; examples will be provided in the Reader/on MEDEDIT even if not marked as compulsory reading. The final third of each session will be devoted to discussing how the theoretical approaches under review may be fruitfully applied to medieval research.

Learning outcomes

Upon the completion of this six-week module, participants should have acquired a basic idea of who the protagonists of the theoretical discussions during the past decades were, and an understanding of the core ideas of the major schools of theory. They will have begun to master the terminology that comes with theoretical discourse. They should therefore be able to participate in academic/theoretical discourse (in a foreign language) more competently, and be able to evaluate this discourse more critically and independently. They will have made the first steps toward acquiring the necessary skills of applying these methods and approaches to their own research (if they so wish), and will know how to conduct further reading.

Reading

Introductions to/readers on the subject abound. Here are some of the most up-to-date (to which this class will frequently revert):

Eagleton, T., Literary theory: an introduction, 2nd edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996) – for more advanced readers; interested in the intellectual backgrounds from which theoretical approaches emerged; informed by the author’s own Marxist perspective.

Waugh, P., ed., Literary Theory and Criticism (Oxford: University Press, 2006).

Castle, G., ed., The Blackwell Guide to Literary Theory (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007) – you might find the biographical sketches provided in ‘Part IV’ particularly helpful.

Rice, P., and P. Waugh, Modern Literary Theory, 4th edn (London: Arnold, 2001).

Selden, R., ed., The Cambridge History of Literary Theory, 8: From formalism to poststructuralism (Cambridge: University Press, 1995).

Groden, M., M. Kreiswirth, and I. Szeman, eds, The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, 2nd edn (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005).

Clark, E. A., History, Theory, Text: historians and the linguistic turn (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004).

Schmitz, T. A., Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts: an introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007).

Week 1: Introduction. The linguistic turn. Structuralism. 

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the names Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes and Terry Eagleton.

Compulsory reading

Barthes, R., ‘The Death of the Author’, in Id., Image ‒ Music ‒ Text (London: Fontana Press, 1977), pp. 142–8 — this is the ‘classical’ piece directed against mid-twentieth century positivism and the rule of the author. If you can spare an extra fifteen minutes please do have a look at it, but keep its specific socio-historical context in mind.

Barthes, R., ‘Introduction to the structural analysis of narrative’, in Id., Image ‒ Music ‒ Text (London: Fontana Press, 1977), pp. 79–117.

Optional reading

Rorty, R. M., ed., The Linguistic Turn: essays in philosophical method (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).

Barthes, R., S/Z (New York: Hill & Wang, 1974). [S/Z, 1970.]

Week 2: Narratology.

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the names Gérard Genette and Mieke Bal.

Compulsory reading

Genette, G., Narrative Discourse: an essay in method, tr. J. E. Lewin (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983) [‘Discours du récit’, in Figures III, 1972] – there is no need to read the whole book or even a whole chapter, but pull it off the shelves and see how it works.

Schmitz, Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts, pp. 43–62 (‘Narratology’).

Optional reading

Bal, M., Narratology: introduction to the theory of narrative, 2nd edn (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997).

Genette, G., Narrative Discourse: an essay in method, tr. J. E. Lewin (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983) [‘Discours du récit’, in Figures III, 1972].

Genette, G., Narrative Discourse Revisited, tr. J. E. Lewin (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988) [Nouveau discours du récit, 1983].

Genette, G., Fiction & Diction, tr. C. Porter (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993) [Fiction et diction, 1991].

Week 3: Reader-response theory. Intertextuality.

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the names Wolfgang Iser, Hans Robert Jauss and Julia Kristevá.

Compulsory reading

Jauss, H. R., ‘Literary history as a challenge to literary theory’, New Literary History, 2 (1967): 11–19.

Schmitz, Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts, pp. 86–97 (‘Reader-response theory’).

Optional reading

Schmitz, Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts, pp. 77–85 (‘Intertextuality’).

Iser, W., The Implied Reader: patterns of communication in prose fiction from Bunyan to Beckett (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974) [Der implizite Leser. Kommunikationsformen des Romans von Bunyan bis Beckett, 1972].

Iser, W., The Act of Reading: a theory of aesthetic response (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978) [Der Akt des Lesens, 2nd edn, 1984].

Jauss, H. R., Toward an Aesthetic of Reception, tr. Timothy Bahti (Brighton: Harvester, 1982).

Genette, G., The Architext: an introduction (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992) [Introduction à l’architexte, 1979].

Genette, G., Palimpsests: literature in the second degree, tr. C. Newman & C. Doubinsky (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997) [Palimpsestes. La littérature au second degré, 1982].

Genette, G., Paratexts: thresholds of interpretation, tr. J. E. Lewin (Cambridge: University Press, 1997) [Paratextes, 1987].

Kristeva, J., Desire in Language: a semiotic approach to literature and art (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980).

Week 4: Mikhail Bakhtin. Deconstruction.

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the names Mikhail Bakhtin, Paul De Man and Jacques Derrida.

Compulsory reading

Pearce, L., ‘Bakhtin and the dialogic principle’, in Waugh, Literary Theory, pp. 223–32.

Derrida, J., ‘Signature – Event – Context’, in Id., Limited, Inc. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1988), pp. 1–21.

Schmitz, Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts, pp. 113–39 (‘Deconstruction’).

Optional reading

Bakhtin, M., The Dialogic Imagination, tr. C. Emerson & M. Holquist (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981).

Week 5: Discourse analysis. Gender.

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the name Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu and Judith Butler.

Compulsory reading

Foucault, M., Discipline and Punish: the birth of the prison (New York: Pantheon Books, 1977), pp. 32–69 (‘The spectacle of the scaffold’).

Schmitz, Modern Literary Theory & Ancient Texts, pp. 140–58 (‘Michel Foucault and Discourse Analysis’).

Tolan, F. ‘Feminisms’, in Waugh, Literary Theory, pp. 319–39.

Purvis, T., ‘Sexualities’, in Waugh, Literary Theory, pp. 427–50.

Optional reading

Foucault, M., The Archaeology of Knowledge, and the Discourse on Language (New York: Pantheon Books, 1972). [L’Archéologie du savoir, 1969, and Ľordre du discours. Leçon inaugurale au Collège de France, 1971].

Foucault, M., The Order of Things: an archaeology of human sciences (New York: Pantheon Books, 1970). [Lets mots et les choses. Une archéologie des sciences humaines, 1966.]

Foucault, M., The History of Sexuality, 3 vols (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978–1986). [Histoire de la sexualité, 1976–1984.]

Bourdieu, P., Distinction: a social critique of the judgement of taste, tr. R. Nice (London: Routledge, 1992). [La distinction, 1979.]

Bourdieu, P., Homo academicus, tr. Peter Collier (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992) [Homo academicus, 1984].

Bourdieu, P., Language and Symbolic Power, tr. G. Raymond & M. Adamson (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991) [Ce que parler veut dire, 1982, together with Langage et pouvoir symbolique, 2001].

Butler, J., Gender Trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity (New York: Routlegde, 1990).

Week 6: Cultural poetics (‘New Historicism’): a commitment to peculiarity? Manuscript studies.

Preparing for the session

Familiarize yourself with the names Stephen Greenblatt and Louis Montrose. Have a look at the journal Representations (available in the CEU main library).

Compulsory reading

Montrose, L., ‘Professing the Renaissance: the poetics and politics of culture’, in H. A. Veeser, ed., The New Historicism (London & New York: Routledge, 1989), pp. 15–36.

Optional reading

Gallagher, C., and S. Greenblatt, Practicing New Historicism (Chicago: University Press, 2000).

Veeser, H. A., ed., The New Historicism (London & New York: Routledge, 1989).

Veeser, H. A., ed., The New Historicism Reader (London & New York: Routledge, 1994).

Greenblatt, S., Renaissance Self-Fashioning: from More to Shakespeare (Chicago: University Press, 1980).

Taylor, A., Textual Situations: three medieval manuscripts and their readers (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002).

Busby, K., Codex and Context: reading old French verse narrative in manuscript (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2002).

Nichols, S. G., and S. Wenzel, eds, The Whole Book: cultural perspectives on the medieval miscellany (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996).

Crisci, E., and O. Pecere, eds, Il codice miscellaneo: tipologie e funzioni. Atti del convegno internazionale. Cassino, 14/17 maggio 2003 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004) [= Segno e Testo, 2].

Nichols, S. G., ‘Introduction: philology in a manuscript culture’, Speculum, 65 (1990): 1–10.

Brownlee, M. S., K. Brownlee and S. G. Nichols, eds, The New Medievalism (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).

Assessment