V Semester Literary theory class notes 4

18 June 2010

The topic that were to be discussed in today’s and the next class are

1.     Saussure’s idea of language- the sign system

2.     The arbitrary nature of language

3.     Signifier exists in time

4.     Thought and language

5.     Question of language/ parole

6.     Signification

7.     Value

8.     Difference

9.     Syntagm and paradigm

SAUSSURE’S IDEA OF LANGUAGE

Saussure says that word represented thing. For example the term ‘duster’ represents a something that a teacher or lecturer uses to clean the blackboard. All words have certain objects to represent.

This means that any word has two properties,

·      The word itself

·      What it suggests

·       

For example when the word auditorium is used in a classroom, there is no auditorium in the class, yet when the term is mentioned everyone gets the picture of, or understand what is being implied by it. It is the idea of the word that exists in the classroom. And this is what happens

most of the time. What we have is the sound through which we get the picture of things. Be it buildings, objects, even feelings.

So we have the word and what it suggests.

Then Saussure labels the word and says that the word is actually a sign,

And the sign has two parts- signifier and the signified.

Here the signifier is the word, the sound or the combination of sounds. And there is a sound image. The sound controls the imagery of mind

The example given by Saussure is that of a tree. When the word ‘tree’ is pronounced, the image of a tree comes in your mind.

Here Saussure is talking only about the spoken language.

So when you make the sound tr-ee or /tri:/, the image created in the mind is the sound image or a visual image.

ARBITRARY NATURE OF LANGUAGE

Saussure says that relationship between signifier and signified, sound and image is at any point of time arbitrary. He said there is no natural relationship between the sound and the image.

This is because when you say, vriksha (hindi), paed (hindi) or mara (kannada) you are creating the same image as tree. Therefore there is no natural relationship. We can decide and create new words or a language if the community agrees to it.

For example if the entire college agrees to calling the tree “taro”, and gives the ‘swaying of tree’ the term “taroying”, the same image will be created in the dead as tree or swaying of tree when I say “taro”  or “taroying” respectively.

Thus the relationship is arbitrary and not natural.

If it was natural, when I say 'Tree' everybody all around the world must get the same image in their head, but this is not the case. A person who does not know English, this image with not be created. Also, there would have been only one language in the world, which is not the case. 

Now the question arises is what about Pantomime and Onomatopoeic expressions. 

Pantomimes are movements or certain gestures that are acted out to create a meaning. If through an action you are able to create the same meaning, and everybody in the world understands that meaning then this theory of this arbitrary relationship is wrong. 

But this is not true. Take the example of road signs, only a person who drives/rides or travels much by road will recognize the road signs. A particular tribe from an area where these signs are these signs will not make sense to them. 

If this example seems to extreme, you can take the example of clapping. Clapping can have many different significations. Clapping can be for example, an applaud, or simply to tell a speaker that he/she has exceeded time or is boring. A clap can be to call someone also. So is also the case with laughter. This ambiguity of significations explains the arbitrary relationship of signifier and signified.

Coming to Onomatopoeic words. Consider an example of your hand getting caught in the door, now if you’re an Indian you would scream “Aaaa!” or “Aiyo!”, although if you are a British you might say “Ouch!”

Also the words we use to term the sounds of animals like Dogs. In India it is “Bhow-Bhow” whereas in Europe it will be “Woof-Woof”

SIGNIFIER EXISTS IN TIME

Saussure says that signifier exists in time, which means that nobody in this world can produce or say two words simultaneously.

When we speak, we speak one word plus another word plus another word and so on. It is impossible to say two words at once, one will always be after another.

THOUGHT AND LANGUAGE

For Saussure thought and language are inseparable. He says that without language there can be no thought and thought gets order, expression and meaning only because of language. If there is no language there can be no thought and thought is only in language.

Question by Anusha: “Can thought not be in images?”

LANGUE AND PAROLE

Saussure says what we have is langue. What we learn as children is a structure that is there. There is a basic structure in every language this structure never changes.

For example the SVO (subject-verb-object) structure of sentence in English and the SOV (subject-object –verb) structure in Indian languages.

What we speak is parole and parole will have different combinations all the time.

So every language has a langue, which is a basic structure from where people pick up thousands of combinations. They are so numerous that no two piece of writing or speech are exactly similar.

The proof of this can be seen in a software which detects whether what you have written is original or copied from some other work. Therefore no two assignment or essay or any piece of writing can ever be same.

And if you are given any sentence in the language you know well, you can tell whether it is grammatically correct or wrong. Therefore there is a universal rule to that, which Saussure terms as langue.

SIGNIFICATION

Saussure does not use the word meaning. He uses the word signification. When signifier and signified come together or when you relate them, what you have is signification.

Consider a modern art gallery, if you have no background on modern art, art pieces will just seem as some colourful designs without any meaning. But if someone comes and explains to you what the strokes and colours signify you begin to understand the significations that the artist uses.

Pinto, Anil. Class Lecture. Introduction to Literary Theory. Christ University. Bangalore, India. 18 June 2010

100 Excellent Online Lectures for Educators | Best Colleges Online

100 Excellent Online Lectures for Educators | Best Colleges Online

Dewey Decimal Classification System

For the pdf versions of the matter below click here

Dewey Decimal Classification System followed at Christ University Library

Hand out for Humanities/Social Sciences Students                                             

By Anil Joseph Pinto, Dept of Media Studies

General

000 Generalities

100 Philosophy & psychology

200 Religion

300 Social sciences

400 Language

500 Natural sciences & mathematics

600 Technology (Applied sciences)

700 The arts

800 Literature & rhetoric

900 Geography & history

070 News media, journalism, publishing

071 News media, journalism, publishing In North America

072 News media, journalism, publishing In British Isles In England

073 News media, journalism, publishing In central Europe In Germany

074 News media, journalism, publishing In France & Monaco

075 News media, journalism, publishing In Italy & adjacent territories

076 News media, journalism, publishing In Iberian Peninsula & adjacent islands

077 News media, journalism, publishing In eastern Europe In Soviet Union

078 News media, journalism, publishing In Scandinavia

079 News media, journalism, publishing In other languages

300 Social sciences
320 Political science
330 Economics
340 Law

400 Language
401 Philosophy & theory

410 Linguistics

414 Phonology
415 Structural systems (Grammar)

700 The arts
701 Philosophy & theory
707 Education, research, related topics
729 Design & decoration
770 Photography & photographs
778 Fields & kinds of photography
779 Photographs
780 Music
781 General principles & musical forms
782 Vocal music
783 Music for single voices The voice
784 Instruments & Instrumental ensembles
785 Chamber music
786 Keyboard & other instruments
787 Stringed instruments (Chordophones)
788 Wind instruments
789 Not assigned or no longer used
790 Recreational & performing arts
791 Public performances
792 Stage presentations

800 Literature & rhetoric
801 Philosophy & theory
808 Rhetoric & collections of literature
809 Literary history & criticism
810 American literature in English
811 Poetry
812 Drama
813 Fiction
814 Essays
815 Speeches
816 Letters
817 Satire & humour
820 English & Old English literatures
821 English poetry
822 English drama
823 English fiction
824 English essays
825 English speeches
826 English letters
827 English satire & humour
828 English miscellaneous writings
829 Old English (Anglo-Saxon)

881 Classical Greek poetry
882 Classical Greek drama
883 Classical Greek epic poetry & fiction
884 Classical Greek lyric poetry
887 Classical Greek satire & humour
888 Classical Greek miscellaneous writings
890 Literatures of other languages

891 East Indo-European & Celtic
892 Afro-Asiatic literatures Semitic
893 Non-Semitic Afro-Asiatic literatures
894 Ural-Altaic, Paleosiberian, Dravidian
895 Literatures of East & Southeast Asia
896 African literatures
897 North American native literatures
898 South American native literatures
899 Other literatures

For further details check:

http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/

understanding viewpoints/ MA Eng Previous

Class notes by Sneha

Common notions of Art and Literature are derived, as most of us would like to believe dwelling in the utmost theoretical derivations of the canonical texts and in those famous images of a Plato, Aristotle or a Kant. What we forget to do is question these ideas and their ideologies. Common human error is that they they read for reading sake and therefore believe in art being' the mirror of the society', 'art for art sake' and the 'social responsibility' that art/poetry/poets have to take into consideration. This is what primarily what surface reading does to us. We tend as such to miss out on the 'in between' meanings.

People seem to pinpoint Plato for having accused poets and to have them banned from...where? Essentially from the 'Republic' ( the model polis) and not the Greek society which he inhabited. So can we say at this point that this was what he considered ideal. His differentiations between the realms and the forms is well known to all by now and his problems with the natural world could be seen in the light of its inconsistency, the fluid world therefore. What Plato chose to do was to present the ideal. For instance take 'justice' and not just define it but picturize it in a way that multiple interpretations do not probe in. Hence the philosopher king stayed an ideal for the ideal polis he thought of in his 'Republic'. Again, Plato is comfortable with the idea if the natural actually represents the ideal.

Aristotle, disciple of Plato affirmed the constancy of the natural world what the latter rejected on grounds of instability. For the disciple, the idea of the ideal can be achieved only through the acquaintance with the natural. That is to say, only multiple encounters with the 'real' chairs can give me an impression of the ideal. (To talk about an Indian, one basically needs to interact with a few Indians from various places.) And Aristotle believes that the representation is a complement and not a copy.

Renaissance and post, Aristotle was not buried. The Arabs supposedly preserved Aristotle from the 6th to the 9th century and then with the onset of science, empiricism and likewise wherein to be scientific one needed to affirm reality and engage in it, Aristotle's idea was re affirmed.

Drawing back now, as aforementioned, one needs to read between the lines. Its basically to figure what the writer argues about if indeed he does argue and to read it in that light alone. It only then that one gets these arguments right.

Certificate course in citizen journalism

Those interested in practicing citizen journalism in India are invited to participate in a two-month citizen journalism course in Mumbai. Classes begin August 1. Deadline: July 15. The program will be conducted every Saturday morning at the Journalism Mentor Center at Andheri East. It is being held by the Journalism Mentor Foundation for Excellence in Journalism. There is a registration fee of Rs. 3000 (US$64). For more information visit http://www.journalism.org.in/citizenjournalism.html

About, Clarendon Fund Scholarships

About, Clarendon Fund Scholarships

Humanist theory and Platonic legacies in literature

HUMANIST THEORY

Humanism refers to the idea that we can understand or explain our world through rational enquiry. It rejects explanations based on the supernatural or divine forces. This idea became the basis for the development of science on the Western world.

Humanism inaugurates rational enquiry and rejects the supernatural or the realm of emotions. It was a response to the Dark Ages when people believed in religion unquestioningly. The hold of the Church was so strong that even the king had to bow down to its decisions. Gradually, people started questioning the teachings. Martin Luther King insisted on reading the Bible rather than following the interpretations of the priest. He argued that we must follow religion rationally. Many people started questioning the rigid ritualistic aspects of religion too. Even scientists like Galileo argue that one must read the book of nature.

Such ideas promote the growth of science and reinforce the belief in observation and rational analysis. It is in such a context that humanism emerges. With this, we also see a revival in the study of Classical Greek and Roman texts. We see the emergence of faith in human rather than divine.

PLATO'S IDEAS

Plato's ideas too, are rooted in the belief that reason or rational thought must be employed to make sense of the world. This assumption influences how he looks at art or representation (since the terms 'art' or 'literature' did not exist when Plato formulated his theories). Since, art or literature appeals to the audience's emotions rather than their reason, Plato considered it to be inferior method for understanding the 'truth'.

To understand Plato's view of literature, we must begin with his theory of forms. According to Plato, the world that we perceive around us, in a copy or reproduction of another realm, which is perfect. This is known as the world of the ideal. These forms of the ideal world are stable and unchanging. Plato used the term 'nature' to describe the world that we perceive through our senses. And, since nature is a copy of the Ideal, it is less perfect.

Ideal (Form) / Real

Nature / Physical World (copy)

Representation / Art (copy of the copy, so, twice removed from the original)

Plato further argues that art or the world of representation tries to copy 'nature' and therefore it is twice removed for the Ideal or reality. Art was therefore, a copy of the copy. Plato also argues that no artist has access to the ideal world. He explains this through his famous allegory of the cave.

This allegory describes individuals chained deep within the recesses of a cave. They are bound in such a way that vision is restricted and they can only see their shadows on the wall of the cave. Breaking free, one of the individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. For the first time, this person sees the real world and returns to the cave with the message that the only things they have seen until now are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they are willing to struggle free of their bonds. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escape into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolizes the transition to the real world the world of Forms, which is the proper object of knowledge. Plato further argues that it is only the philosopher who has access to this real world, because of a mind trained in rational enquiry.

Based on such a belief, Plato argues that art is to be banned since it gives a false picture of reality to the people. It can emotionally take control of a person and this makes it difficult to reach the ultimate reality. This idea, that all art has the potential to corrupt the mind, develops in Western philosophy and spreads to the rest of the world with colonialism. This idea further leads to the birth of the concept of censorship.

ARISTOTLE'S RESPONSE

To understand Aristotle's views, we must begin by looking at how he looks at reality. Aristotle believes that reality resides in the changeable world of sense perceptions or, the physical, material world. He argues that the 'form' of Ideal can only exist in tangible examples of that form. So, it is only through individual examples of table, that we can understand the essence of a table, or 'table-ness'.

In addition, Aristotle believes that art does not imitate nature; rather, it gives an order to nature. This order is given by language, because it is only by naming abstract concepts (such as male and female; or animal and plant) that we can understand them. So, art complements nature.

Thus, while Plato is concerned with content of representation, Aristotle is concerned with the form. Plato's approach lead to the development of moral criticism while Aristotle's approach lead to the birth of genre criticism.

(This post is a compilation of all the lectures on Humanism.)

Pinto, Anil. Class Lecture. Introduction to Literary Theory. Christ University. Bangalore, India. 11 June - 21 June 2010.

Those who want to organise lectures/guest talks/interactions...

Attention: I year MA English, II Year JPEng and CEP, and III Year JPEng and PSEng students 

In case anyone of you is interested in arranging guest lectures, talks, interactions on topics related to the courses being taught by me I would be happy to give space for it. The resource persons could either come physically, or come online from any part of the globe of any age group or qualification. The only criterion is they should be resourceful in the topic you have chosen. 

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication | Center for Social Media

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication | Center for Social Media

Web 2.0 Applications

Web 2.0 Applications

Gazes in Literature

Gazes in Literature / 19 June 2010 / 3rd Sem CEP

The aim of this session was to make aware the students of literature about the existence of 'gazes' within the realm of their studies.

A 'gaze' is different from a 'look', which is different from 'to see'. 'To see' would connote the physical sense or attribute of seeing; a 'look' would be to see with a particular purpose; a 'gaze' is a term with social connotations - it would be determined by prevalent social values. Simply put, it could mean similar to, but not completely the same as, 'in the perspective of'.

An example for a gaze would be the 'male gaze'. The 'male gaze' is when an individual (of any sex and gender) perceives the woman as a consumptive object.

Different academic disciplines have gazes. Mr Pinto argues with the case of the anthropological gaze. This gaze, which came along with its discipline in the colonial era, looks at communities with a coloniser-colonised binary perspective. He further argues that this becomes a common world view, with the coloniser and colonised being replaced by other power poles; for example, the city-village binary.

An understanding of this neccessitates revisiting the history of anthropology. Anthropology came along with colonisation, where the colonisers were curious to study the colonised. Interestingly, argues Mr Pinto, when one studies an other, the one is endowed with a position of higher power/knowledge. So when the colonisers studies the colonised, it was from their position of higher power that they went about it.

Anthropology has four branches:
- Archaeology
- Social anthropology
- Cultural anthropology
- Physical anthropology

The colonisers mainly dealt with physical anthropology where racial bodily differencs were studied, with the aim of perhaps discovering 'a perfect race'.

As mentioned earlier, a group of people studying an other is put in a position of higher power, thereby automatically producing a power structure with two players - the students, i.e. the colonisers, and the studied, the colonised.

The colonisers considered it their responsibility ('White man's burden' as Rudyard Kipling puts it) to impart their knowledge, technology, and thus modernity and development to the colonised lands. They were the bringers of the light. This is a gaze. The 'poor needs help from the rich'. And this binary gaze exists even today, in many different forms.

There are gazes in literature too. When we talk about feminist literature, or post-colonial literature, or Native-American literature, our gazes shift. Certain meanings, values and interpretations are associated with the work by virtue of our gaze.

The point of this argument is not that we do away with gazes. Rather, it is that we have to be aware of the presence of such gazes within the realm of literature, and be cautious of them. Perhaps even revisit these gazes, and question their form.

Coming back to the coloniser-colonised binary, it can be a problematic gaze. If we have an understanding of developed cityfolk trying to help undeveloped village communities, we have a vision which is slightly skewed in some place. But most of us are conditioned into this gaze through our many years in this world. A shifting of the binary does not help. An argument that since women have been exploited for centuries by men, a shifting of positions with women posited above men will solve the problem does not really hold ground. So what can be done? One solution, though not the best one, is to make the categories more inclusive and open. Another is to engage in love. But I lost track at this point, and further discussion is required to clarify certain points!

*


Pinto, Anil. "Gazes in literature". 19 June 2010. American Literature, 3rd semester BA CEP. Bangalore, India. Class Lecture.

(Notes by Mohan K. Pillai - post subject to author's bias and perspective)

Am. Lit- 2CEP- June 5th-7th

June 5, 2010

TRANSLATION

William Jones- translated Kalidasa to English

Lord Cornwallis- translated Manusmriti and Mahabharat to English

Goethe

Chaucer

Beowulf- translated from Italian to English

Novel came to English through Spanish translation

WHY STUDY AMERICAN LITERATURE?

1. Multi-cultural similarities between India and USA

2. History of translation

3. Super power status of USA

4. USA is a large English speaking nation, and as long as we study English Literature, we ought to study it from wherever it originates

5. Since English Literature travelled from UK to USA, studying American Literature provides a comprehensive and coherent study

6. Democratic spirit of USA

7. Post war Literature was predominantly American and very influential

8. Exploration and conquests

9. Globalisation and role of USA in world politics

10. Anything that is dominant must be engaged with

WHY SHOULD WE NOT STUDY AMERICAN LITERATURE?

1. English has been a tool of oppression- Lord Macaulay, Masks of Conquest

2. English Literature as a discipline was taught in India much before England.

Courses in India were started by those on fellowship from US.

Indian Literature as a discipline, taught in 1980’s, much after American Literature was introduced

3. FBI policy to set up scholarships and fellowships. US defence, government and education are closely connected- MIT was control room for WW2 and inventor of major defence ideas. US set up library in Hyderabad.

4. Rule by the oppressor cannot be gun-rule, must be ideological- Musharrif

5. Is the sheer magnitude a good enough reason to study it?

Urdu- highest number of primary schools in Karnataka

Should one not learn one’s own culture first?

6. Tokenism, Co-opting

7. We are influenced more by Japanese(Haiku), Latin America, UK, French and Russian literature, than American

8. American Literature is not as progressive as we think- It mainly studies white male writers.

Therefore, did we get sucked into West Anglo Saxon Protestant Politics of American Literature?- Most American Literature is from North American, not the Catholics from the South.

9. US’s primary export is culture

NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

· Obama didn’t mention the Red Indians in his first presidential address. But every hill in the US was named by the Indians. Present names of various places in US have aboriginal roots.

· Avatar- movie- talks about colonialistic personality of US

· Columbus- landed in 1492. Funded by Queen Isabella of Spain. (Now its race for moon. Explorer had to take notes and return and would not be credited until another person followed the same route and found the same place)

June 7, 2010

Psychologists-Indians

Freud

Bible

Buildings on graves

EUROPE- 14, 1, 16 Century AND THEIR JOURNEY TO AMERICA

· Eureopeans were looking for Promised Land. They considered travel to America their Exodus.

· All of Shakespeare’s tragedies were about collapse of monarchy, restoration and hope. People were neurotic with the fear of the collapse.

· When society changes, fundamentalism is first result- Northern Ireland, South USA, Pakistan, Afganistan, Gaza

· New money was coming to Europe.

This led to a changing of class and social structres.

These insecurities expressed through religion, that too an idea religion.

Ideal religion emphasizes on past, rejects the present, and is based on texts.

Rejection of past makes them take their arguments elsewhere, hence colonialism.

Thus, Europeans travelled to America.

· New World was made similar to old- New England

· They identified with Adam and Eve-

· Genesis command to ‘go and rule over the world’ was the excuse to colonise. Hebrew word for the same is ‘raada’ meaning, to take care of

· US has breached every treaty with the Red Indians

· 1776- Independent from England

· 1880- Civil war. North and South split

II SEM BA EST Literary Theory Course Plan 2010 Revised

V Sem BA OEN531 Literary Theory  Course Plan 2010 Revised 

Click Here to Download


JPEng:
Anil: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7,
Padmakumar: 3, 6, 8

PSEng
Renu: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7,
Anil: 3, 6, 8

FEP
Padmakumar: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7,
Renu: 3, 6, 8

National Seminar on The Linguistic and Literary Terrain of Translation

UGC Sponsored National Seminar on The Linguistic and Literary Terrain of Translation

at

Salesian College Sonada & Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal

Dates: 30-31 July 2010


Click here for more information

V Semester Literary theory class notes 3

12 June 2010

Notes by Anusha

STRUCTURALISM 

The word authority comes from the word author. Author is the one who sanctions the meaning of his/her work. The work could be the constitution, Bible, or anything else.

Different approaches to study English were:
1. Historical- Biographical approach
2. Formalism
3. Textual analysis
4. Structuralism
5. Post structuralism


Feminism takes its methods, strategies from post structuralism.

‘Ism’ is a movement, a whole population looking at a particular way. It is a social movement. Like sciences; larger units broken into smaller units to study them, language also is broken into,

Words
Sentences
Paragraphs
Sounds

Literature is a unit and is studied through language.

Usually the structure of a word is looked for word is a sign. Sign is made up of

Signifier
Signified

E.g.: A ‘Dog’ is a group of letters in a written form, but the word creates an image.

Vladimir Propp a Russian structuralist made a detailed study of folk tales from all over the world and noted that there are only 31 types of folk tales. The structure is only of 31 types and different tale are only reconstruction of it.

Structuralism can not be studied with a single work. Comparison is an important aspect and hence requires two works of the same author. This comparison paves way for universalisation of the findings.

Structuralism does not deal with the content but emphasizes on the structure.

Pinto, Anil. Class Lecture. Introduction to Literary Theory. Christ University. Bangalore, India. 12 June 2010