Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE FRE2017

 
TITLE Théorie littéraire/ Literary Theory

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL Not Applicable

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT French

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit will be a general presentation of literary theory focusing on French literary theory. The study-unit will present a reading of a rich corpus of theoretical and critical texts ranging from Aristotle, Bakhtine, Lukács, Blanchot, Barthes, Genette or Todorov, to the more recent theories by Dominique Maingueneau, Antoine Compagnon, Pierre Bayard or Jean-Marie Schaeffer. The study-unit is an introduction to literary theory and to the concept of fiction.

Ce cours est une présentation générale des théories littéraires, des plus anciennes (Propp, Bakhtine, Lukács, Greimas, Blanchot, Barthes, Genette et Todorov) aux plus récentes (Antoine Compagnon, Pierre Bayard ou Jean-Marie Schaeffer). Ce cours est une introduction aux théories littéraires et au concept de fiction.

Study-unit Aims:

The aims of this study-unit are:
- to introduce the schools of thought relating to literary theory;
- to address some of the questions at the heart of the reflections of literary theoreticians;
- to familiarise students with the theories relating to the main literary genres;
- to introduce them to the functions and problems of contemporary literary theory.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to distinguish between the principal schools of literary theory; to make use of precise theoretical knowledge in order to comment and analyze a literary text; to comment from a theoretical point of view; to present arguments on some major works in literary theory.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- demonstrate critical thinking skills by evaluating and recognizing a theoretical school of thought and making a critical analysis of theoretical texts.
- by identifying major thinkers in the field of literary theory, students will demonstrate linguistic skills in the analysis of a literary text.
- apply the principles underpinning the use of literary theory in the evaluation of a literary text.
- assess to which extent a literary theory contributes to the evaluation of a literary text.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main texts

TOURSEL, Nadine, VASSEVIERE, Jacques, Littérature : textes théoriques et critiques. Plus de cent textes d’écrivains et de critiques classés et commentés, Paris, Nathan, 2003, « Littérature fac. »
DELACROIX Maurice and Fernand HALLYN, Méthodes du texte : Introduction aux études littéraires, Paris, Duculot, 1987.
MONTALBETTI, Christine La Fiction, Paris, GF-Flammarion, « Corpus/Lettres », 2001.

Supplementary readings

AUERBACH, Erich, Mimesis. La représentation de la réalité dans la littérature occidentale, Paris, Gallimard, 1977, « Tel ».
ARISTOTE, Poétique, trad. Dupont-Roc/Lallot, Paris, Seuil, « Poétique », 1980.
JAUSS, Hans Robert, Pour une esthétique de la réception, Paris, Gallimard, 1990, « Tel ».
BAKHTINE, Mikhail, Esthétique et théorie du roman, Paris, Gallimard, 1987, « Tel ».
COMPAGNON, Antoine, Le Démon de la théorie, Paris, Seuil, « Points essais », 2001.
SCHAEFFER, Jean-Marie, Pourquoi la fiction?, Paris, Seuil, « Poétique »1999.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Pre-requisite Qualification: A pass at Advanced Level at Grade C or better in French

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Thierry Tremblay

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit