Objectives and competences
The student gets acquainted with the mechanisms of canonisation of literary works; understands the processes of canon revision; gains in-depth knowledge of the foundational works of European literature; understands the reasons why some artistically exemplary works have remained in the shadow of established canons; understands the concept of the exemplary author; is able to relate different interpretations of works to the reader's horizon; understands the process of evaluating a canonised work from the point of view of a contemporary reader.
Content (Syllabus outline)
The course deals with the literary canon in the context of European literature. In an introductory theoretical section, it deals with the history of the notion of the literary canon and the canonising mechanisms that determined whether a work or an author was considered canonical in a given cultural community. Among contemporary theories of the canon, special attention is given to those that consider the concept within the framework of literary systems theory, and special attention is also paid to the notion of the revision of canons by minority groups (e.g. women's writing in the history of European literature). The main body of the lectures is divided into two parts; on the one hand, it deals with the established "hard" canon of works, which consists mainly of works by men writers, and on the other hand, based on the notion of a "women canon in the shadow", it deals with the works of women authors who have been brought out of obscurity in recent decades and have been included in a newly written canon that treats and values women authorship on an equal footing with men authorship. The selection of works from antiquity onwards (e.g. Homer, Sappho, Dante, Labe, Cervantes, Marguerite de Navarre, Shakespeare, Goethe, Austen, Dostoyevsky, Joyce, Woolf, etc.) is examined in detail, with different analyses and interpretations of the selected literary works and with particular reference to the history of their reception and the horizon of expectations of the contemporary reader. The selected works are also discussed in the context of the concept of intertextuality, thus providing a panoramic overview of the intertextual links between canonical works of European literature.
Learning and teaching methods
Lectures, independent study, seminar paper, presentation of seminar paper, discussion; close reading method, method of analysis, method of interpretation.
The information and communications technology is used for educational purposes in the teaching and learning process.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
The student is able to analyse the literary procedures used in selected works of European literature and assess their significance for the development of literature; they are able to identify and analyse the intertextual links between canonical works; they are familiar with the various interpretations and reception histories of selected literary works; they are proficient in the more independent interpretation of canonical works of European literature.
Readings
Erich AUERBACH, 1998: Mimezis: prikazana resnicnost v zahodni literaturi. Ljubljana: LUD Literatura.
Harold BLOOM, 2003: Zahodni kanon. Ljubljana: LUD Literatura. Uvod in poglavje Elegija za kanon. 9-40.
Marijan DOVIC, 2003: Sodobni pogledi na literarni kanon in njegovo družbeno vlog. Dialogi 39/1–2, 18–44.
Marko JUVAN, 1991: Literarni kanon. Literatura 3/13, 116–135.
Katja MIHURKO PONIŽ, 2005: Feministicne literarnovedne raziskave – tukaj in zdaj. Jezik in slovstvo 50/3–4, 87–95.
Anton OCVIRK, 1977: Evropski roman: Goethe, Flaubert, Dostojevski, Gide, Proust. Ljubljana: DZS.
Dušan PiRJEVEC, 1977: Evropski roman. Ljubljana: DZS.
Elaine SHOWALTER, 1998: Feminizem in literatura. Sodobna literarna teorija. Ur. Aleš Pogacnik. Ljubljana: Krtina. 177–201.
Ana Marija SOBOCAN, 2008: Branje kanona. Književnost v izobraževanju – cilji, vsebine, metode. Ur. Boža Krakar Vogel. Ljubljana: Center za slovenšcino kot drugi/tuji jezik pri Oddelku za slovenistiko Filozofske fakultete. 99–112.
Willie VAN PEER, 1999: Ali – ali? Ideologija in estetska kakovost v književni kanonizaciji. Primerjalna književnost 22/1, 1–17.
Prerequisits
75% attendance and active participation in lectures and tutorials.
Additional information on implementation and assessment Oral examination. 50 %
Seminar paper. 50 %
