Παρουσίαση/Προβολή
Linguistic approaches to literature (Xειμ. 2026-2027)
(63ΓΕ105) - Άννα Πιατά
Περιγραφή Μαθήματος
This course will address how linguistics can inform the study of literature with the aim todeepen our understanding of what is literariness; that is, what makes a text literary.
We will specifically discuss three linguistic frameworks and their application to literature, namely Formalist stylistics; Literary pragmatics; and Cognitive poetics. All concepts and methods from linguistics will be discussed in class together with the analysis of particular literary texts from fiction, poetry, and drama.
Our aim will be to identify the different ways in which theories from linguistics (such as structuralism, pragmatics, and cognitive semantics) can be relevant to the study of literature; to apply them to the analysis of particular literary texts, and to assess the strenghts and the limitations that inhere in each framework. Ultimaltely, the course is expected to revisit literary and non-literary discourse as two opposite poles and foster a novel understanding of their difference along a continuum rather than in terms of a binary disctinction with sharp boundaries.
Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας
Δευτέρα 25 Σεπτεμβρίου 2023
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Περίγραμμα
Course Objectives/Goals
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the most prominent linguistic approaches to literature and, more generally, to showcase the relevance of linguistics for the study of literary discourse, as well as for the definition of literariness.
We will specifically focus on three theoretical frameworks, namely Formalist stylistics, Literary pragmatics, and Cognitive poetics. On the basis of the analytic tools offered in each framework we will explore the processes of meaning making that are involved in understanding literary discourse by zooming in a) on the text’s structural features; b) on the reader’s interpretative routes; and c) on domain-general mental processes. While literary genres differ from non-literary types of discourse in important ways, in this course we will explore their possible affinity (in terms of linguistic, pragmatic and cognitive features), and consider the possibility that literary and non-literary discourse form a continuum rather than a binary distinction.
Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be able to identify such different linguistic approaches to literature and apply them to the analysis of various literary texts, including poetry, fiction, and drama. Students are expected to critically reflect on, and assess, the advantages, and well as the limitations, of each approach.
The course is offered in the form of lectures and is based on the students’ active participation in the form of in-class discussions and formative coursework. All learning materials are uploaded on e-class on a weekly basis. Students’ performance will be assessed on the basis of a final exam. Finally, the course is evaluated anonymously through a questionnaire at the end of the semester.
Course Syllabus
Week 1
Introduction to the course: Aims and scope.
The three building blocks of stylistics: Formalist stylistics; Literary pragmatics; and Cognitive poetics.
Week 2
Introduction to Formalist stylistics.
Jakobson’s poetic function of language.
Defamiliarization.
Week 3
Literariness as foregrounding I: Parallelism.
Week 4
Literariness as foregrounding II: Deviation.
Week 5
Introduction to Literary pragmatics.
Characterization in drama I: Implicatures and speech acts.
Week 6
Characterization in drama II: The role of im/politeness.
Week 7
Relevance theory.
Literature as ostensive-inferential communication.
Week 8
Poetic effects.
Literariness as interpretation.
Week 9
Introduction to Cognitive poetics.
The study of literature as part of cognitive science.
Week 10
Schema poetics.
Literariness as schema disruption.
Week 11
Conceptual metaphor theory.
From everyday to poetic metaphor.
Week 12
Conceptual integration theory.
From metaphors to conceptual blends.
Week 13
Wrap up class and exam preparation.
Please note that the weekly outline of classes is tentative and subject to change.
Bibliography
Main reading
Burke, M. (2014). The Routledge Handbook of Stylistics. London: Routledge.
Additional readings
Cave, T. & Wilson, D. (2018). Reading Beyond the Code: Literature and Relevance Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clark, U. & Zyngier, S. (2003). “Toward a Pedagogical Stylistics”. In Language &
Literature 12(4): 339-351.
Coupland, N. (2007). Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Dancygier, B. & Sweetser, E. (2014). Figurative Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gibbs, R. & Colston, H. (2012). Interpreting Figurative Meaning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Jeffries, L. (2010). Stylistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lakoff, G. & Turner, M. (1989). More Than Cool Reason. A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Leech, Geoffrey N. (1969). A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. London: Longman.
McIntyre, D. & Walker, B. (2019). Corpus Stylistics: Theory and Practice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Pilkington, A. (2000). Poetic Effects: A Relevance Theory Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Short, M. (1996). Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose. London: Longman.
Simpson, P. (2004). Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students. London: Routledge.
Stockwell, P. (2002). Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction. London: Routledge.
Stockwell, P. & Whiteley, S. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Stylistics. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Semino, E. & Steen, G. (2008). “Metaphor in Literature”. In Gibbs, R. (ed.), The Cambridge
Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 232-246.
Instructors
Dr. Anna Piata
Email: apiata@enl.uoa.gr
Office 803
Office hours: by appointment