552.266 (21W) Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation

Wintersemester 2021/22

Registration deadline has expired.

First course session
12.10.2021 17:00 - 19:00 online Off Campus
... no further dates known

Overview

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be necessary to make changes to courses and examinations at short notice (e.g. cancellation of attendance-based courses and switching to online examinations).

For further information regarding teaching on campus, please visit: https://www.aau.at/en/corona.
Lecturer
LV Nummer Südostverbund ENL03001UL
Course title german Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation
Type Lecture
Course model Online course
Hours per Week 2.0
ECTS credits 3.0
Registrations 200
Organisational unit
Language of instruction English
possible language(s) of the assessment English
Course begins on 12.10.2021
eLearning Go to Moodle course
Remarks (english)

Sign up for this lecture in our system yourselves, please! This is possible until January 30th, no exceptions.

After you signed up, the teacher will set your status to “admitted“.

In case you were admitted („aufgenommen“) by me, but cannot access our Moodle class yet, please consult AAU‘s e-Learning Service: elearning@aau.at

For course details: choose the English version.

Exam dates: February 2nd 2022; May 3rd; June 14th; All 5pm-7pm.

Time and place

Please note that the currently displayed dates may be subject to change due to COVID-19 measures.
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Course Information

Intended learning outcomes

Wenn Sie von mir in den Kurs aufgenommen wurden, aber noch keinen Zugung zu diesem Moodle-Kurs haben, wenden Sie sich bitte an das e-Learning Service der AAU: elearning@aau.at

In case you were admitted („aufgenommen“) by me, but cannot access our Moodle class yet, please consult AAU‘s e-Learning Service: elearning@aau.at

For course details: choose the English version.

Exam dates: February 2nd 2022; May 3rd; June 14th; All 5pm-7pm.

Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools

see English version please

Course content

see English version

Intended learning outcomes

This lecture is intended to familiarise you with the essential terminology for your literary study programme at the department of English. Understand what it means to read texts academically and how central methodology is applied to analyse and to interpret literary works. Expand your understanding to different media formats, ranging from poetry and prose to film, videogames, and graphic novels. Practice your skills in practical application throughout the semester and explore the unique historical and sociocultural background of each discussed artwork.

At the end of the semester, you will possess an academic core vocabulary and foundational insights into the research methods of literature and culture studies to bolster yourself for subsequent courses.

Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools

Detailed instructions on how this class is going to function are going to be provided on your lecture syllabus, which will be posted on Moodle shortly before the first session on October 12th.

Lecture sessions will be complemented by (online) discussions and analytical, interpretative exercises, some of them taking the form of brief home assignments (open-book,  students are required to the cite sources consulted; thus same format as the final exam);

-- Material (PPT, script etc.) compiled and authored by Felix Schniz, additions by Miriam Auer;

Course content

This lecture provides an overview of core texts and theories relevant to Anglophone literary studies. It focuses on the following cultural artefacts and the respective terminology necessary for their interpretation:

  • Poetry
  • Drama
  • Prose
  • Short Stories
  • Graphic Novels
  • Film
  • Episodic TV Formats
  • Videogames

On a theoretical level, it introduces the most important names and most important basics of:

  • Reading Strategies
  • Structuralism
  • The Birmingham School
  • Feminist Criticism
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Marxist Criticism
  • Modernism
  • The Frankfurt School
  • The Visual Turn
  • Poststructuralism
  • Postmodernism
  • Genre Theory
  • Post-Postmodernism

Prior knowledge expected

Please sign up for the lecture if you want to take the exam, as all dates will be held as an online-exam via Moodle.

⟢exams are held on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022; Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022; Tuesday, June 14th, 2022; time: all from 5 until 7 p.m., all online;

PLUS, as requested by you: additional earlier exam date on Tuesday, January 11th, 2022, time: 7-9 p.m. (after our class), online;⟣


Curricular registration requirements

Please sign up for the lecture if you want to take the exam, as all dates will be held as an online-exam via Moodle.

⟢exams are held on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022; Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022; Tuesday, June 14th, 2022; time: all from 5 until 7 p.m., all online;

PLUS, as requested by you: additional earlier exam date on Tuesday, January 11th, 2022, time: 7-9 p.m. (after our class), online;⟣







Literature

This lecture draws its content and definitions from various core authors, texts and academic dictionaries. The primary works to be discussed are meant to represent a broad array of fields that are culturally relevant to the seminar.

Shorter texts, such as poems, short stories, and secondary sources are provided on Moodle. However, certain artworks cannot be provided via Moodle and must either be purchased, retrieved from a library. However, crucial brief excerpts  will be made available to you as well. It is expected that students access these works and familiarise themselves with them. THESE TEXTS AND ARTWORKS WILL BE ANNOUNCED TO YOU AHEAD OF TIME and introduced as abstracts on Moodle. 

Students are expected to have read, watched, or played these primary works prior to their respective lecture session. They will be frequently referred to during their respective lecture sessions and be central to questions of the final exam, specifically the essay questions.

A full overview of all primary works and the dates of their respective lecture session is going to be provided via a syllabus on Moodle as soon as class begins, to give everyone the opportunity to access them on time.

Examination information

Im Fall von online durchgeführten Prüfungen sind die Standards zu beachten, die die technischen Geräte der Studierenden erfüllen müssen, um an diesen Prüfungen teilnehmen zu können.

Examination methodology

see English version

Examination topic(s)

see English version

Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations

see English version

Examination methodology

90-minute open-book exam (online) at the end of the semester, students are required to cite the sources  they used to answer questions; The exam’s content is explained in the section on exam topics/Prüfungsinhalte.

Examination topic(s)

In the first half of the exam, students are expected to correctly recall, contextualise, and to elaborate on key terms and concepts that were explored during the lecture. In the second half of the exam, students are expected to show the capability to provide an independent, methodically sound interpretation of a cultural artefact in shape of an essay.

For this essay, students may freely choose from a selection of three topics. Each topic provides an excerpt, derived from one of the lecture’s primary works and a guiding question, derived from one of the lecture’s theory topic fields. Any theory topic field may be assessed in connection to any of the primary texts.

When composing the essay, students need to analyse the excerpt and to interpret it along the given guiding question. Students are expected to work with proper terminology as provided by the lecture, to apply all the knowledge they have about the primary text (i.e. refer to other passages from the text as they see fit), and to follow the very basic rules of essay writing (provide an introduction, a main body of arguments, and a conclusion).

Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations

The written exam tests the following key competences of students:

  • Multiple Choice (10%): Students ought to recall important key terms from the lecture.
  • Matching (20%): Students ought to contextualise central theorists, authors and artists discussed in the lecture with their respective terminology.
  • Short Answer (20%): Students ought to elaborate on general concepts of the lecture in questions that should be answered with 3-5 sentences.
  • Essay (50%): Students ought to independently interpret a short paragraph, passage, or otherwise limited work of art in a concise essay. The essay ought to reflect a student’s ability to apply key concepts, terms, and methods discussed in the lecture in new contexts, as well as to critically reflect their applicability for the given excerpt.

Students are expected to submit typed answers, no scans, no handwritten notes. Unreadable answers cannot be considered for evaluation.

Grading scheme

Grade / Grade grading scheme

Position in the curriculum

  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 17W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.003 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation ( 2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.266 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 3., 4., 5., 6. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 15W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.003 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation ( 2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.266 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 7., 8. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor-Lehramtsstudium Bachelor Unterrichtsfach Englisch (SKZ: 407, Version: 19W.2)
    • Subject: Anglophone Literary Studies II: Historical Surveys, Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (Compulsory subject)
      • ENL.003 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation ( 2.0h VO, FA / 3.0 ECTS)
        • 552.266 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 3., 4., 5., 6. Semester empfohlen
  • Bachelor's degree programme English and American Studies (SKZ: 612, Version: 15W.3)
    • Subject: Fachliches Grund- und Aufbaustudium Literature (Compulsory subject)
      • Module: Grundstudium Literature
        • 5.2 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation ( 0.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
          • 552.266 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h VO / 3.0 ECTS)
            Absolvierung im 2. Semester empfohlen
  • Master's degree programme Game Studies and Engineering (SKZ: 992, Version: 17W.2)
    • Subject: Cultural and Media Skills (Compulsory subject)
      • Literary Terminology and the Practice of Interpretation for Game Studies and Engineering ( 0.0h VO / 4.0 ECTS)
        • 552.266 Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h VO / 4.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 1. Semester empfohlen

Equivalent courses for counting the examination attempts

Sommersemester 2024
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2023/24
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2023
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2022/23
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2022
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2021
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2020/21
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2020
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2019/20
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 4.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2019
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2018/19
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 4.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2018
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2017/18
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2017
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2016/17
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2016
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2015/16
  • 552.266 VO Literary Terminology and Practice of Interpretation (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2013/14
  • 551.161 KU Integrated Language Skills (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Sommersemester 2013
  • 551.161 KU Integrated Language Skills (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2012/13
  • 551.161 KU Integrated Language Skills a (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)
Wintersemester 2011/12
  • 551.161 KU Integrated Language Skills a (2.0h / 3.0ECTS)