Literature as discourse
P Groves
8 points * 2.5 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton * Prerequisite: One of the following - ENH1111/CLS1010, ENH1122/CLS1020
The subject will introduce students to the techniques of discourse analysis as a method of investigating texts, and will explore some of the ways in which ideological pressures determine the forms of different kinds of discourse. Discourse analysis is a set of theoretical procedures in linguistics for the investigation of language structures larger than the sentence (the upper limit of grammatical analysis). Topics include the differences between spoken and written language; conversational interaction; speech-act theory; presupposition, entailment and implicature; textual cohesion; and discourse and ideological inscription. In each case topics will be applied to the investigation of literary texts including poems, short stories, a novel and a Shakespearean play.
Assessment
Tutorial paper (1000 words): 15% * Short essay (1500 words): 25% * Long essay (2500 words): 40% * Class test: 10% * Seminar participation: 10%
Prescribed texts
Alison and others The Norton anthology of poetry 3rd edn W W Norton
Cochrane J (ed.) The Penguin book of American short stories Penguin
Coulthard M An introduction to discourse analysis Longman
Orwell G 1984 Penguin
Shakespeare W Othello Signet or Penguin