Ower True Tales: Scott and Historicism (P01988)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : LLC-P-U03263

This course will aim to foster an understanding of the relationship between literature, history and philosophy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through reading the work of Walter Scott alongside major works in historiography, philosophy and cultural theory. The course will begin by looking at the claims made on Scott's behalf by Georg Lukacs, and by reading Redgauntlet and The Antiquary against the background of Enlightenment and Romantic historiography, including both Scott's predecessors such as David Hume, as well as Lukacs own great inspirations Hegel and Marx, in order to develop a sense of his work's intellectual moment. We will then turn to look at The Pirate in the light of Northrop Frye's discussion of Walter Scott, and consider Hayden White's use of Frye to suggest that nineteenth century historiography never made the break with generic paradigms on which its claim to objectivity depends. Subsequent weeks will consider in relation to Old Mortality and The Bride of Lammermoor in relation to twentieth century reactions to the Enlightenment historicist project by thinkers associated with the Frankfurt School such as Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, and by recent French philosophers such as Jacques Derrida. This final section will seek to raise questions about the links between the nation state and violence, about history and trauma, and the contemporary legacy of the Enlightenment project. But we will also consider whether such investigations might not in their turn be accused of merely substituting a tragic for a comic paradigm.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Costs : Essential course texts.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : To be arranged/Unknown

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 2 hour(s) per week for 1 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate:

1) Familiarity with a range of Scott's novels.

2) Knowledge of the intellectual, historical and literary contexts for Scott's work.

3) An understanding of contemporary debates about the legacy of Enlightenment.

4) The ability to relate detailed readings of Scott's work to wider issues of cultural history