Lecture:
Introduction to Literary Studies
(Im zweiwöchigen Rhythmus, beginnt in der ersten
Vorlesungswoche)
Lit1
A reader
will be made available to you for free via Moodle. You will need to read
and prepare material in the reader for each session.
You will also need to buy
and read two books. You will need them from the first week of the semester,
so buy them now:
- Michael Meyer, English and American Literatures.
4. Auflage. UTB Basics. ISBN-13: 978-3825-235505.
- Christoph Heyl, Kleine
Englische Literaturgeschichte. J.B. Metzler. ISBN-13: 978-3476045096.
It is absolutely
necessary to buy the two books and to download the reader. It is also
absolutely necessary to attend both the lecture course (Vorlesung) and one of
the Grundkurse.
As all other obligatory
introductions in the field of Anglophone Studies, the Introduction to Literary
Studies is of elementary importance to all new students. It will be your first
and crucial step towards becoming an expert reader of literature written in
English. The more you know, the more you see; the more you see, the more you
can try to understand, which makes the whole process of reading even more
exciting and rewarding. This course will therefore help you to see more and to
get to grips with all sorts of texts by covering topics such as:
-
What is literature? Why study literature?
-
The major genres of literature (poetry, drama, narrative fiction).
-
Some key developments in the history of these genres in English literature and
their cultural contexts.
-
Literary theory and critical approaches, i.e. how to do things with texts in
more than one way.
-
How to use essential digital resources.
-
How to write a seminar paper.
-
What to do when you get stuck and you absolutely don’t know what to do … and
much more besides.
Yes, this is a Pflichtveranstaltung,
but it is also very much about enjoying literature.
The Introduction to Literary
Studies will be extremely useful for all further courses in literary as well as
cultural studies you will take while at university. It will be your first step
towards enjoying literature even more than you do already, and also towards
writing successful seminar papers, BA and MA theses.
The Introduction to
Literary Studies consists of two elements: A lecture course (Vorlesung)
and seminar-type courses (Grundkurse). The lecture and the Grundkurs
format alternate on a weekly basis throughout the semester. They belong
together, it is essential to attend both. The lecture is taught by Prof. Heyl, the Grundkurse
by members of the Introduction team.
You must sign up for one
of the Grundkurse on LSF and join the Moodle course for the lecture
(the Moodle course is called Vorlesung Introduction to Literary Studies).
The Moodle course is called Vorlesung Introduction to Literary Studies WS
23-24. The Moodle password is IntroLiteraryStudiesWS24.
You may receive further
information via e-mail. Please make sure to use and check your official
university e-mail addresses at all times. This is absolutely essential. Do not
use any other addresses for university business.
Bemerkung:
Die Einführungsveranstaltung in die
Literaturwissenschaft besteht aus der Vorlesung “Introduction to Literary
Studies” und einem sie ergänzenden Seminar („Grundkurs“), in dem das in der
Vorlesung behandelte Fachwissen an exemplarischen Beispielen veranschaulicht
und vertieft wird. Vorlesung und Seminar wechseln das gesamte Semester hindurch
wochenweise ab (in einer Woche gehen Sie also in die Vorlesung, in der nächsten
ins Seminar, in der nächsten wieder in die Vorlesung usw.). Das Seminar ist der
ergänzende Pflicht-Grundkurs zur Vorlesung „Introduction to Literary Studies“,
Vorlesung und Seminar bilden also eine Einheit.
Besonderer Hinweis:
Eine Anmeldung zur Vorlesung im LSF ist
nicht nötig, hier reicht die Anmeldung in dem Moodle-Kurs zur Vorlesung; für
die Grundkurse ist eine Anmeldung aber verpflichtend!
