History of Literature and Critical Thought 1832-1900 (402-0-1)
Instructors
Erica Suzanne Weitzman
847/467-1849
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall, Rm 3333
Office Hours: Tues, 3:30-5:30 PM and by appointment
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 314: Wed 4:00PM - 6:50PM
Overview of class
Theories of Realism (German Literature and Critical Thought, 1832-1900)
This course looks at the notion of realism as both historical literary movement and epistemological/aesthetic problem. We will read classic theories of realism by Hegel, Auerbach, Barthes, Lukács, Blumenberg, and others, as well as significant new work by contemporary critics and theorists, together with exemplary texts of nineteenth-century European realist prose fiction. The temporal focus of the class will be mid- to late-nineteenth-century Europe and the particular literary form that dominated at this time; however, we will also go beyond this to look at the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of the notion of "realism" itself. Special attention will be devoted to the following questions: the purpose of genre, the place of the human, the relationship between realism and reality (or the real), the elevation of the ordinary, and the possibilities and limits of representation.
Learning Objectives
* Acquire knowledge of the history of aesthetics from Kant to Benjamin
* Gain insight into a certain element of Goethe's work and its reception
* Become familiar with elements of Kantian epistemology and ethics; Kierkegaard's version of "existentialism"; and Benjamin's early "metaphysical" writings
Teaching Method
Seminar
Evaluation Method
Attendance
Class participation
Paper, final
Presentations
Class Materials (Required)
- Georg Büchner, Lenz (Archipelago, 2004)
ISBN: 9780974968025
- Gustave Flaubert, Three Tales (Penguin, 2005)
ISBN: 978-0140448009
- Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest (Oxford World's Classics, 2015)
ISBN: 978-0199675647
- Émile Zola, The Belly of Paris (Oxford World's Classics, 2009)
ISBN: 978-0199555840