Philosophy and Literature
Code: 100280 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500246 Philosophy | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2500246 Philosophy | OT | 4 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Marta Tafalla González
- Email:
- Marta.Tafalla@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
Teachers
- Marta Tafalla González
Prerequisites
The fundamental prerequisite is to be able to read in English, since some of the COMPULSORY READINGS OF THE COURSE are in this language,
because they are recent texts of which there is still no translation. In any case, they are brief articles in academic English, clear and easy to read, and we will work them in class.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The main objective of the course is to offer an introduction to the study of literature from a philosophical perspective. From its origins, philosophy
has posed a series of complex questions about literature, such as why we have the need to tell stories or compose poems,
how could literature convey philosophical ideas or even have a role as a moral educator, what relationship exists between literature and knowledge,
literature and truth, and the role of interpretation. All these questions, and others, have generated discussions that are now approached from innovative perspectives.
The course will focus on current debates on philosophy of literature.
Competences
- Philosophy
- Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Identifying the main philosophical attitudes in the field of aesthetics and critically applying them in the art world.
- Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing and summarising information.
- Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Discriminating the features that define the writer's place in the context of a problem and reorganising them in a consistent diagram.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Identifying the regulatory, stylistic or argumentative errors of a text.
- Mastering the relevant languages to the necessary degree in the professional practice.
- Recognising, with a critical eye, aesthetic referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
- Recognising, with a critical eye, philosophical referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
Content
PROGRAM AND COMPULSORY READINGS
1. LITERATURE: ORALITY AND WRITING
Reading: J. O. Urmson, "Literature", in Eileen John & Dominic McIver Lopes (eds.), Philosophy of Literature, Blackwell, 2004.
2. ONTOLOGY OF LITERATURE WORK
Reading: Peter Lamarque, "Ontology", in Lamarque, The Philosophy of Literature, Blackwell, 2009.
3. LITERATURE AS A WAY OF KNOWLEDGE
Reading: Peter Lamarque & Stein Haugom Olsen, "Literature, Truth and Philosophy", in Eileen John & Dominic McIver Lopes (eds.), Philosophy of Literature, Blackwell, 2004.
4. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE WORKS
-Interpretation, plurality and truth. The debate on Moby Dick as paradigm.
Reading: Hans Georg Gadamer, Verdad y Método, Sígueme, 2012 (1960). (fragments)
5. LITERATURE AND ETHICS
-Theories by Martha Nussbaum, Iris Murdoch and Felicia Ackerman.
Readings:
-Martha Nussbaum, Justicia Poética, Andrés Bello, 1997. (1995) (fragment)
-David Davies, "Literature, morality and society", in David Davies, Aesthetics and Literature, Continuum, 2007.
6. LITERATURE AS CRITICAL MEMORY
Readings:
-T. W. Adorno, Dialéctica Negativa, Taurus, 1990 (1966). (fragment)
-Marta Tafalla, "Violencia y memoria en Milan Kundera", Enrahonar, UAB, num 38/39, 2007.
7. LITERATURE, CANON AND POWER
Videos:
-Laura Freixas, "Libros, mujeres y feminismo", talk at the Biblioteca Nacional, 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP4L2RYm9Vk&t=2800s
-Laura Freixas, "Sylvia Plath. ¿Se puede ser mujer y genio?", talk, 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVtGIYuHJfM
8. NATURE WRITING
Readings:
-Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Errata Naturae, 2013 (1854). (fragment)
-Terry Tempest Williams, Refugio, Errata Naturae, 2017 (1991). (fragment)
(Compulsory readings will be available at the campus virtual)
Methodology
The methodology of the course combines:
SESSIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
-Lecture sessions: where the fundamental questions are addressed and basic knowledge is offered to prepare the readings.
-Seminar sessions: where the readings that the students have previously and autonomously prepared are analyzed and discussed.
These two types of sessions are alternated during the course.
It is essential that the students attend class on a regular basis and actively participate in the discussion about the readings.
SESSIONS AT THE OFFICE
-Tutorials: those students who have doubts about the contents and the readings of the course, or who want to profundize in particular aspects, can go to the lecturer's office during the hours of attention.
-Tutorials for the preparation of the video: the video on a topic of the course, which is one of the three tests in which the evaluation consists, must pass, at least, through a tutorial session.
DURING ALL THE COURSE
-Campus virtual: the course will use the campus virtual to post schemata of the lecture sessions, the compulsory readings and complementary materials. Also to inform about issues related to the course.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Sessions teòriques i sessions de seminari | 45 | 1.8 | 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutories a les hores de despatx; tutories del treball sobre un tema de l'assignatura | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 4, 8, 3 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Estudi autònom de les lectures obligatòries i preparació de les sessions de seminari que es realitzaran a l'aula; consulta de la bibliografia secundària; recerca d'informació complementària; elaboració d'un treball sobre un tema de l'assignatura | 92.5 | 3.7 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
Assessment
The evaluation consists of three tests.
The first is an exam that will take place in the middle of the course, and the second is an exam that will take place at the end of the course. The exact dates will be announced during the first days of class. In the exams, it will be necessary to demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of the contents worked in the classes and of the compulsory readings, as well as the capacity for analysis and critical reflection.
The third test consists of preparing a paper on one of the topics covered in the course, and its oral presentation in a video. It is recommended to do this work in groups of 3/4 people, but if someone prefers to do an individual video, they can do it. Important: it is necessary to make a proposal for the topic of the video in a tutorial session with the lecturer. While doing the video, the students can attend more tutorial sessions with the lecturer during the hours of attention in the office. The video can be delivered at any time during the course, and the deadline to submit it will be the day of the second exam.
Once each test has been evaluated, and the note posted on the campus virtual, the students who wish may go to the lecturer's office during the hours of attention, and ask for a review.
Students who have failed one, two or all three tests may apply for reevaluation and retrieve the tests they have suspended.
If a student has not performed some of the tests, they can go to reevaluation. But to be able to go to reevaluation, it will be necessary to have performed, at least, two of the three tests.
When a student has not performed none of the tests, or has only performed one of them, it will be considered "non-evaluable".
It will be necessary to pass the three tests to pass the course. The final grade will be the average grade of the three tests.
Students are asked to use the email only for urgent matters. The rest of doubts and problems will be solved during the class and office hours. No tutorials will be done by email.
If a student needs to communicate urgently with the lecturer, please do not use the campus virtual, but: Marta.Tafalla@uab.cat
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 | 33,3% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 6, 7, 9, 10 |
| Exam 2 | 33,3% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 6, 3, 7, 9, 10 |
| Writing of a paper and presentation on a video | 33,3% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 9, 10 |
Bibliography
COMPULSORY READINGS
They are indicated in the content section. They will be available in the campus virtual.
COMPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adorno, T. W. Notas sobre Literatura (Akal: Madrid, 2003). Translation by Alfredo Brotons.
Antón, Eva. Género y naturaleza en las narrativas contemporáneas francesa y española (Universidad de Valladolid, 2018)
Davies, David. Aesthetics & Literature (London: Continuum, 2007).
Dutton, Denis. El instinto del arte. Belleza, placer y evolución humana (Madrid: Espasa, 2010). Translation by Carme Font.
Gaut, Berys. Art, Emotion and Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
John, Eileen & McIver Lopes, Dominic (eds.). Philosophy of Literature (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004).
Lamarque, Peter. The Philosophy of Literature (Oxford: Blackwell, 2009).
Martín Alegre, Sara. La literatura (Barcelona: UOC, 2007).
Nussbaum, Martha. Justicia Poética (Santiago de Chile: Editorial Andrés Bello, 1997). Translation by Carlos Gardini.