UBKCJLBK55 Literature and ethics

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Winter 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jan Heczko, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jan Heczko, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jan Heczko, Ph.D.
Institute of The Czech Language and Library Science – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Prerequisites
Ability to understand professional (philosophical and literary) text.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course deals with various connections between literature (art) and ethics (morality), resp. relationships between ethical norms and the function of literature. The introductory lessons present the forms of these relationships in a historical perspective. The following sections deal with ethical issues and the so-called ethical turn in contemporary criticism. Since thinking about literature does not happen in a vacuum, some ethical approaches, as dealt with in contemporary philosophy or sociology, are also presented.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student: will gain an overview of how the relationships between art and ethical issues have been formed throughout history; is able to orientate in the main ethical approaches of contemporary thinking; get acquainted with ethical issues of various schools of criticism; deepen the ability to reflect on one's reading experience.
Syllabus
  • 1. Art and / versus morality, ethics and / versus literature: a historical overview I.
  • 2. Art and / versus morality, ethics and / versus literature: a historical overview II.
  • 3. Art and / versus morality, ethics and / versus literature: a historical overview III.
  • 4. Loss of virtue (A. MacIntyre) in the liquid world (Z. Bauman) and at the time of critique of ethical essentialism (poststructuralism).
  • 5. The need for an ordered model of the world (Ch. Taylor), useful fiction (R. Rorty).
  • 6. Engaged literature (J.-P-Sartre, T. Eagleton, P. Bourdieu).
  • 7. Literature and traditional values (W. Booth, F. R. Leavis).
  • 8. Reception aesthetics - ethical impuls.
  • 9. Hermeneutics – ethical impuls I.
  • 10. Hermeneutics – ethical impuls II.
  • 11. Deconstruction of J. Derrida – how to do justice to the other.
  • 12. Ethics or reading – J. Hillis Miller.
  • 13. Literature as a unique event and responsible reading – Derek Attridge.
Literature
    required literature
  • GADAMER, H.-G. Člověk a řeč. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1999.
  • HECZKO, J. Současné myšlení o literatuře. Distanční studijní text. Opava: SU FPF, 2018
  • ATTRIDGE, D. „Ta podivná instituce, které se říká literatura“. Rozhovor s Jacquesem Derridou. Aluze, 2000, roč. 4, č. 2, s. 122–150.
  • ATTRIDGE, D. Derrida a problematizování literatury. Aluze, 2000, roč. 4, č. 2, s. 102–120.
  • NÜNNING, A. (ed.). Lexikon teorie literatury a kultury. Brno, 2006. info
  • Čtenář jako výzva. Výbor z prací kostnické školy recepční estetiky. Brno, 2001. info
    recommended literature
  • MACINTYRE, A. Ztráta ctnosti. K morální krizi současnosti. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2004.
  • TAYLOR, Ch. Etika autenticity. Praha: Filosofia, 2002.
  • BAUMAN, Z. Tekuté časy. Praha: Academia, 2017.
  • RICOEUR, P. Čas a vyprávění III. Praha, 2008. info
  • KERMODE, F. Smysl konců. Brno, 2007. info
  • DERRIDA, J. Síla zákona. Praha, 2002. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, homework – reading, class discussion.
Assessment methods
Classified discussion on the prepared seminar work.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 4p+4s/sem.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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