Lehrende/r: Dr. Patrick Gill
Veranstaltungsart: Seminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: 05.874.313
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 10
Anmeldegruppe: BS/ELC 313
Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches: Wichtiger Hinweis: ACHTUNG - GETEILTER KURS!!! Dieses Seminar 313 ist identisch mit dem Seminar 05.874.210. Sie dürfen sich nur für das Seminar 313 ODER dasSeminar 210 anmelden! Eine Anmeldung für beide Seminare gleichzeitig ist ausgeschlossen!
Inhalt: While theoretical discourses of the past millennia of European civilisation saw ambiguity first and foremost as a flaw, a problem to be resolved, artists have always exploited the simple fact that a single linguistic sign can refer to two or more things. We will discuss this phenomenon as it occurs throughout European literature, starting with ancient Greek oracles (not to worry, though – our emphasis will very much be on English texts). These concrete historical examples aside, we will also look at the fate of the term ambiguity at the hands of 20th-century critics to see on what narratological paths this erstwhile linguistic notion can take us.
Empfohlene Literatur: Our class will deal with the phenomenon of ambiguity in literature. In order to illustrate the different notions of ambiguity there are, we will refer to a great number of very short texts which will be provided in class. There are, however, a handful of longer texts to be read before certain points in our class (your knowledge of these texts will be tested): Beginning of term: “Ambiguity as Aesthetic Principle” from the _Dictionary of the History of Ideas_ (1974): you'll find this in our course reader! -William Shakespeare, _Henry V_ [please read this in a critical edition, preferably norton or new cambridge] -Henry James, “The Figure in the Carpet”: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/645/645-h/645-h.htm and "The Turn of the Screw": http://www.gutenberg.org/files/209/209-h/209-h.htm
