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Overview
The general starting point for this advanced course in theories of knowledge is foundational questions about theory in relation to the study of literature. The course requires active participation and engagement with selected texts from the syllabus. The main focus is the relationship between central theoretical texts and current discussions, themes, and debates in literary research. There will be some variation in terms of which issues and texts are selected each time the course is offered, depending upon the instructors and the interests of the students enrolled, but always with a suitable breadth and range of material.
Questions to be explored may include: How have terms such as author, text, writer, reader, genre, literature, and criticism changed over the course of the history of literary theory and criticism? How do various theories affect literary research? How have theories changed in recent decades? What societal relevance does literary research have today? What is the impact of the increasing openness of literature and literary research to the world outside Europe? What are some of the differences between the historical development of theoretical fields in Norway in relation to other parts of Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world? How is the study of literature organized in different departments at the University of Oslo? What are the organizing principles here compared to institutions in other countries? How do more recent research areas (object-oriented ontology, affect theory, new materialism, posthumanism, digital humanities, human-animal studies, disability studies, etc.) relate to and build upon earlier theories and methods? How are new trends in theory taken up in different ways across the humanities? How are interdisciplinary topics and questions handled in different departments? In what ways is literary research part of a larger humanistic horizon? How has literary research's exchange with other disciplines, spheres of thought and professional fields changed over time?
This is a 1 ECTS course.
Course preparations and deadlines
- 30 October: deadline for course participants to submit a two-page description of their own PhD project, including an indication of which theoretical fields it prioritizes and how the project is positioned in relation to major theoretical debates. Participants must also indicate which texts or theorists from the course’s broader potential bibliography might be most relevant for their own work. Please note that this is a list of potential texts, out of which a smaller selection (4-5) will be assigned as course readings.
- 3 November: announcement of texts to be read in preparation for the course (4-5 articles/chapters, approx. 150 pages total, selected by the course instructors, based upon preferences submitted by course participants). Each participant will also be assigned as a respondent to a fellow participant and receive all of the 2-page PhD project descriptions to be read in advance.
- 12 December: deadline for submitting a five-page (1.5 spacing) essay after the course, based upon course texts and discussions, indicating how the PhD project can be situated and perhaps defended in relation to the history of major theoretical debates in various national and international contexts.
More information
The seminar begins with an introductory framing of the course texts by the course instructors, along with an overview of the course objectives and plans. Students will then take turns presenting their project descriptions and theoretical contexts, followed by fellow students assigned in advance to lead discussions of each project. The respondents will be required to prepare 2-3 questions about the presenter’s project and then facilitate plenary discussion.
After lunch, there will be workshops in smaller groups aimed toward broader questions about historicizing and situating theoretical debates in relation to individual PhD projects.
Instructors:
- Professor Michael Lundblad: https://www.hf.uio.no/ilos/english/people/aca/michalun/index.html
- Professor Elisabeth Oxfeldt: https://www.hf.uio.no/iln/english/people/aca/scandinavian-literature/tenured/elisabox/index.html
The course is taught in English.
Sign up!
You can sign up from 20.09.2023. PhD candidates at the Faculty of Humanities will be prioritized. If you are a postdoc or your affiliation is outside the Faculty of Humanities at UiO, you will receive a message from the course convenor after 1 October telling you if you have been admitted to the course or not.
Deadline 16 October.