Tutorial Theories and Methods

1. Tutorial TheoriesandMethods Tutorial for 15.04.2014 Set text: Culler, Jonathan. LiteraryTheory: A veryshortIntroduction. (reader pp. 1-12) Tutorial Theories and Methods

2. Whatistheory? • theory ≠ only literary theory • literary theory = “systematic account of the nature of literature and of the methods for analysing it” (Culler, 2000: 1) Tutorial Theories and Methods

3. Theory as genre • “body of thinking and writing” (Culler, 2000: 3) that origins in one field but challenges assumptions and shows effects in other fields • for literary studies this means: texts from other areas (e.g. anthropology, art, history, gender studies, philosophy, psychoanalysis, sociology and more) are employed by literary scholars to broaden their subject Tutorial Theories and Methods

4. What is a theory? • a speculation but not a guess, since it cannot easily be proved to be either true or false • a complex but not obvious explanation • theory’s effects are practical: critique and discussion of what we usually take for granted and understand as common-sense notion, but which is actually a historical construction • see four main points on p. 10 in your reader (Culler, pp.14-15) Tutorial Theories and Methods

5. Example 1: Foucault on sex • common understanding of sex to be repressed in earlier decades and attempted to be liberated in the modern era • Foucault claims: ‘sex’ is a complex concept involving effects of discourse (e.g. social practices, talk, texts, research) • different aspects (anatomy, conduct, preferences, etc.) are grouped within one category, i.e. male or female • creation of an “artificial unity” (Culler, 2000: 6) • sex: crucial for a person’s identity • sex: cause of all the differences and various identities, instead of effect • Foucault analyses the historical development of the notion of ‘sex’ and encourages readers to question what is perceived as natural Tutorial Theories and Methods

6. Theory’s move • move: one direction of thought or a special claim • Foucault claims: there is a link between power and knowledge • he who has knowledge can exercise power • power forms and defines the situation humans are in: social forces have made the category ‘sex’, which they attempt to control • he who fights against sexual oppression works within the limits set by power, because he is himself defined by his sex • power is everywhere Tutorial Theories and Methods

7. Example 2: Derrida on writing • Western philosophy: reality vs. appearance, things vs. representations, thoughts vs. signs • speech = expression of thought (= sign that represents thought) • writing = artificial version of speech (= sign of a sign: it represents speech, which in turn represents thought) • writing can be ambiguous and misleading • Rousseau calls writing an “inessential extra” (Culler, 2000: 10), a supplement to speech • but: speech is already a supplement itself and needs supplementation, because it can also be misunderstood • Derrida explains a logic of supplementary in Rousseau: the thing supplemented, i.e. speech, needs supplementation because it has similar qualities to the supplement, i.e. writing Tutorial Theories and Methods

8. Maman example • proves: supplements are indispensable, because the idea of one thing (e.g. speech, presence) can only be created in contrast to another thing (e.g. writing, absence) • in her absence, he finds supplements for Maman (floor, curtains, bed), but in her presents, she is herself a supplement for the mother he never had • without copies there would be no original  the original is an effect of supplements • reality is not original but abstract • reality is not prior to signification, but an effect of constantly changing signs Tutorial Theories and Methods

9. Questions? Tutorial Theories and Methods