LIT4300A ¨C Study of Literary Theory I

Course content

The course is a specialization study in literary theory where you study one or more theoretical traditions or issues. The topics vary from semester to semester.?

The syllabus consists of 500-700 pages of theory. In addition, there will be a selection of literary texts equivalent in scope to one literary work.?

The course has a 20 ECTS version with the course code LIT4300B. The 20 ECTS version has a more extensive syllabus and a longer term paper.?

Autumn 2025, the course is offered in Norwegian, and the semester topic is:

Romanens historie og teori

Roman eller romanse, gotiske eller grafiske romaner, brevromaner eller historiske romaner; realistiske, modernistiske eller postmoderne romaner? Mulighetene er like mange som eksemplene, og det er ikke lett ? finne en fellesnevner for alle de ulike formene som g?r under betegnelsen roman. N?r oppst?r egentlig sjangeren, hvilken forbindelse er det mellom dagens romaner og fortidens, hvilke muligheter og grenser p?kaller sjangerbetegnelsen? Hvordan forst? romanen i et globalt perspektiv? Hvilken betydning har kj?nn?

P? dette emnet vil vi med utgangspunkt i ulike litteraturhistoriske og teoretiske tekster dr?fte synspunkter p? romanen, knyttet til historie, form og tematikk. Sp?rsm?let om opprinnelse, romanens forbindelse til realismen, og romanens antropologiske muligheter - romanen som en inngang til ? forst? og analysere liv og f?lelser - vil v?re sentrale temaer. Som del av det historiske perspektivet vil vi ogs? se p? leserens rolle.

I tillegg til det teoretiske og litteraturhistoriske pensumet er Charlotte Bront?, Jane Eyre pensum. Eksempler herfra vil bli brukt gjennom hele emnet, og det er derfor en fordel om den er lest f?r emnet starter. Utdrag fra andre romaner vil bli distribuert underveis.

Learning outcome

After completing this course you will have:

• insight into central theoretical perspectives and terms;
• developed skills to discuss both theoretical issue in and of themselves and their implications for practical literary analysis.?

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester?register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.

The course is for students in the Allmenn litteraturvitenskap (master).

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with LIT4300B ¨C Study of Literary Theory I.

Teaching

Seminar teaching: 2 hour per week for 7 weeks and a full day seminar (6 hours) in the last half of the semester. In addition you will have reading and writing weeks throughout the semester. The seminar teaching assumes that students actively participates.?

The teaching is taught jointly with LIT4300B.

Obligatory activity:

• In the seminar you have to present and have approved a draft of your term paper. The paper will be evaluated by the course teacher.?Read more here about rules concerning valid excuses and how to apply for postponements.?Information about?guidelines for obligatory activities.
• It is obligatory to show up for a minimum of 60% of the teaching. In this course you have to attend 5 of 8 seminars. The requirement is absolute.

The allowed absence limit will cover all absences, including illness. You will not be granted valid absences with documentation, even when the absence is due to something beyond your control.

If the course has in-person teaching, and you are signed up for an in-person seminar group, you are to attend the teaching in the location found in the schedule.

If the course has digital teaching, and you are signed up for a digital seminar group, you must attend via Zoom with your camera on.

In certain circumstances, i.e. serious or chronic illness, you could apply for?special needs accommodations

Fulfilled course requirements are only valid for the current semester.

Examination

The obligatory activities have to be approved in order for you to sit the exam.

The form of assessment is a term paper. The topic of you term paper is determined by you in cooperation with the course teacher. The paper must be 9 pages (a standard page is 2300 characters excluding spaces.) If your paper deviates from the page count by more than 10 percent, this may affect your grade. The paper must have proper citation and a bibliography.?

A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.

Language of examination

The term paper is to be written in Norwegian.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• How to use AI as a student
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.