Yearbooks

Programme: BAHons Literary Theory

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Code Faculty
01240552 Faculty of Humanities
Credits Duration
Duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 120
Contact:
Prof HS Willemse
[email protected]
+27 (0)124204320

Admission requirements

A three-year bachelor’s degree (or comparable tertiary qualification with Senate’s approval) with at least 70 credits in a language, Literary Theory or language related discipline except at the discretion of the programme manager.

Minimum credits: 120

Core modules

  • Module content:

    Part 1 – Theoretical basis: The concepts “science” and “research”; the relationship “theory”, “research”, “application”, forms of research (inter alia descriptive, empirical, applied); the research process (from research proposal to research report: identification and formulation of the problem, development of hypotheses, data collection and interpretation, etc); the use of the computer in research. 
    Part 2 – Application: A limited research project in which the principles of research methodology are applied. A candidate must submit the topic and format to the head of department or his/her representative for approval.

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  • Module content:

    A focus on the consequences of the colonial encounter between the West and the non-West, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Direct and indirect ways in which literary texts are involved with the discourse on the colony and the effects of power in social and political practices. Said and “worldliness” of literary texts. (Post)colonial identity. Bhabha and the “location of culture”, hybridity.

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  • Module content:

    The texts and practices of leading African cultural, literary, media, philosophers, and social movements will be discussed with reference to their contribution to the development of African thought and culture. Figures such as Achebe, Biko, Cesaire, Garvey, Fanon, Mazrui, Rodney, Senghor, Mbembe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Soyinka will be featured in this module.

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  • Module content:

    The relationship between national literatures and the broader frameworks of regional and world literature. “Distant Reading”. Cosmopolitanism. Popular literature and “bestsellers”. Approaches to multiple literatures (and cultures) in translation.

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  • Module content:

    An advanced focus on “Western” and “Southern” Feminisms, Queer Theory, Gay and Lesbian Studies in literary texts.

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  • Module content:

    A choice from the following themes:
    Narrativity
    Narrativity vs. classical narratology. The transaction between narratives and audiences. Employment. Eventfulness. Tellability. Fictionality. Life and Narrative. ; the function of narrative in the creation of “social memory”; historiographic meta-fiction”; study of texts (literary and historical) from various languages and periods.
    or
    (Auto) biography in world literature
    The history of biography and autobiography; biography, autobiography and their relationship to other genres; theories about subjectivity and identity (“self”), fact and fiction, objectivity and representation; study of relevant texts.
    or
    Media genre theory
    Genre theory as applied to culture and media studies. The factors contributing to the formation of media genres, the internal and external features as well as the reception of media products will be discussed in this module.
     

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  • Module content:

    The place, nature and function of theory of literature, research (hermeneutical, empirical), application; analysis, interpretation, evaluation and canonisation; literary systems (fields); capita selecta from 20th-century perspectives on literature and the study of literature; key issues in literary theory; primary and secondary sources.

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Elective modules

  • Module content:

    'n Studie van die Afrikaanse drama met toespitsing op die Afrikaanse toneel, radio, televisie en film. In oorleg met die studente word leerplan bestaande uit aantal oeuvre- en tematologiese studies saamgestel.

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  • Module content:

    Voëlvlug oor die Afrikaanse poësie van voor 1900 tot vandag; sisteme, periodisering, kanon(s) en kanoniseringsmeganismes, (hedendaagse) benaderingswyses en leesstrategieë, tradisies, gesprekke, oeuvres; intensiewe bestudering van enkele oeuvres/digbundels en temas.

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  • Module content:

    Die vak behels seleksies uit die Afrikaanse prosatradisie. In oorleg met die studente word leerplan bestaande uit aantal oeuvre- en tematologiese studies saamgestel.

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  • Module content:

    Kulturele agtergrond van die Lae Lande; oorsig oor die Nederlandse en Vlaamse prosa en poësie.

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  • Module content:

    Introduction to German literary studies and the history of German literature.

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  • Module content:

    German literature of the 18th and 19th century.

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  • Module content:

    German literature of the 20th and 21st century.

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  • Module content:

    German literature from a Gender Studies’ perspective.

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  • Module content:

    The module begins with a general introduction to literary approaches to African writing. Thereafter a selection of texts representing the three genres – poetry, drama and prose – is studied. You are encouraged to attend live performances of South African plays and to read current editions of local journals such as Contrast, English Academy Review, Staffrider, Current Writing, Pretexts and English in Africa for reviews and scholarly articles.

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  • Module content:

    The module begins with a general introduction to literary approaches and concepts in African writing. Thereafter a selection of prose, drama and poetry from West, East and Central Africa is studied.

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  • Module content:

    This module provides and overview of the history and range of short story writing in South Africa and covers the work of individual writers such as Bosman, Smith, Head, Rive, Ndebele, Matthews, Essop, Wicomb and Vladislavic. Students are also encouraged to examine new work published in literary journals.

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  • Module content:

    A range of interest in children’s literature is represented in this module: children’s literature as a social formation, in education and in psychology. The module discusses literature for, by and about children, in different methodologies and modes.

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  • Module content:

    This module introduces the student to the reading and appreciation of Old and Middle English art forms in which the emphasis falls on aesthetic and moral issues, rather than on psychological ones. The module is an integrated one beginning with the study of the Old English epic, Beowulf, and includes Anglo-Saxon models as well as homiletic or heroic poems. The Middle Ages witness the reintroduction of English as the language of court, in preference to French, and the growth of narrative and lyrical poetry. Representations of both types of poetry are studied.

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  • Module content:

    The module consists of a selection of Shakespeare's plays intended to give some idea of the scope and development of his work. Students will study history plays, comedies, tragedies and two of the so-called "problem plays".

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  • Module content:

    The English Renaissance spans the period of approximately 1560-1660. This is the period of great expansion in English literature. This module deals with the period from the Elizabethan Age to the early Restoration. It excludes Shakespeare, to whom a separate module is devoted, but deals with Shakespeare’s contemporaries. It further deals with the major poets of the periods and with some of the prose. The Puritan movement and some of its main figures are included.

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  • Module content:

    This module explores a range of works written between 1660 and 1760 and, in keeping with recent critical approaches to the period, emphasises the age’s exuberance, comic and satiric energy, and willingness to experiment with literary forms. Writers discussed include Pope, Johnson, Swift, Wycherley, Congreve and a selection of less well-known female poets and dramatists.

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  • Module content:

    The modernist movement is examined in the context of contemporary developments in psychology, physics and anthropology, with an emphasis on the break with traditional literary and artistic conventions. Literary developments will be discussed in relation to seminal texts in poetry, prose and drama, including the work of Yeats, Eliot, Hardy, Lawrence, Joyce, Conrad and Beckett.

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  • Module content:

    This module will introduce students to certain key concepts in relation to postmodernism and postmodern literature. A wide range of texts will be studied. These may include works by British, American, Canadian and South African writers.

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  • Module content:

    Nature and functioning of language
    Philosophy of language: approaches to the nature of language.

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  • Module content:

    Analysis of the basic features and structure of the different literary genres in isiNdebele: poetry (modern and traditional), short stories, novels and drama.

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  • Module content:

    Analysis of the basic features and structure of the different literary genres in Sepedi: poetry (modern and traditional), short stories, novels and drama. Introduction to the narratological perspective as a tool of literary analysis. Will only be offered if a sufficient number of students enrol.

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  • Module content:

    Analysis of the basic features and structure of the different literary genres in Setswana: poetry (modern and traditional), short stories, novels and drama. Introduction to the narratological perspective as a tool of literary analysis. Will only be offered if a sufficient number of students enrol.

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  • Module content:

    Analysis of the basic features and structure of the different literary genres in isiZulu: poetry (modern and traditional), short stories, novels and drama. Introduction to the narratological perspective as a tool of literary analysis. Will only be offered if sufficient number of students enrol.

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  • Module content:

    This module offers an introduction to Hispanic literature from Spain and Latin America. The module is conducted in Spanish and all reading and writing for the module is also done in Spanish.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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