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Introduction to Literary Studies

Code: 108156
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Humanities and Management of Culture FB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Pere Ballart Fernandez
Email :
pere.ballart@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Since the students have duely given evidence of having acquired the basic competences of the subject, they will need to be able to express properly their ideas both in oral and in written form. Spelling mistakes will be marked down. Coursework will have to be original work and plagiarism either partial or total will be penalised with a failure (0) in the final assessment. The students are expected to be acquainted with the basic rules of academic language and presentation, and also follow the instructions and conventions indicated by the teacher.

Objectives

The course is a general introduction to the study of literary works from a theoretical and comparative perspective, and it makes available to its students a selection of the most appropriate concepts and procedures for the analysis and interpretation of the literary text within the framework of art, thought and humanistic knowledge. The reflection on problems related to the definition of the nature of the literary work will be completed, in the second part of the program, by a characterization of its main generic varieties (poetry, narrative and drama), and a study of the conventions that in each case determine their reading, understanding and evaluation.

Learning outcomes

  • CM03 (Evaluate literary aesthetic practices as phenomena that generate identity, knowledge and social influence.) Evaluate literary aesthetic practices as phenomena that generate identity, knowledge and social influence.
  • KM04 (Identify the main methodologies for comparative analysis of the thematic and symbolic contents of narrative, poetic and dramatic texts.) Identify the main methodologies for comparative analysis of the thematic and symbolic contents of narrative, poetic and dramatic texts.
  • KM05 (Identify new methods and disciplines for the study of comparative literature.) Identify new methods and disciplines for the study of comparative literature.
  • KM06 (Explain how aesthetic practices in literature have historically represented gender roles, and how these representations have evolved and challenged traditional gender constructs.) Explain how aesthetic practices in literature have historically represented gender roles, and how these representations have evolved and challenged traditional gender constructs.
  • SM04 (Discuss the cultural and artistic diversity of societies based on the critical study of literary works.) Discuss the cultural and artistic diversity of societies based on the critical study of literary works.
  • SM05 (Use citation rules and academic style from academic and popular sources to analyse literary works from a cultural perspective.) Use citation rules and academic style from academic and popular sources to analyse literary works from a cultural perspective.

Contents

I. LITERARY STUDIES AND THEIR DISCIPLINES


0. An aesthetic approach to the literary phenomenon


1. The place of theory of literature and comparative literature in humanistic research.


II. THE LITERARY SYSTEM


2. The notion of "literature".


3. Literary communication: author, text, reader, context.


4. Intertextuality.


5. Literary genres.


III. GENRES, FORMS AND TOPICS


6. Poetry


7. Narrative.


8. Drama.


IV. THE LITERARY TRADITION AND THE CANON


9. The "classics". Tradition and modernity. The notion of canon.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Autonomous work 75 3 CM03, KM04, KM05, KM06, SM04, SM05
Master classes and sessions of seminars and practices led by the teaching staff 52.5 2.1 CM03, KM04, KM05, KM06, SM04, SM05
Programmed tutorials 15 0.6 CM03, KM04, KM05, KM06, SM04, SM05

The subject combines the format of the master class, always on the basis of the theoretical texts, with the seminar to discuss creation texts, in which the student's collaboration is necessary. Periodically, students will be invited to perform several exercises (from the review to the monographic work) on certain aspects of the syllabus.


The learning of this subject by the students is distributed as follows:


Directed activities (35%). These activities are divided into master classes and seminars and classroom practices led by the faculty, in which theoretical explanation is combined with discussion of all types of texts.

Supervised activities (10%). These tutorials are programmed by the teacher, dedicated to correcting and commenting on problems at different levels of literary analysis.

Autonomous activities (50%). These activities include both time devoted to individual study and production of papers and analytical comments written, as well as oral presentations.

Evaluation activities (5%). The evaluation of the subject will be carried out through written tests.


15 minutes of a class will be set aside, within the calendar established by the center/degree, for students to complete the evaluation surveys of the teachers' performance and the evaluation of the subject.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Oral presentations and written appraisals Periodical assessment of the acquisition, collective and individual, of concepts and analytic strategies 7.5 0.3 CM03, KM04, KM05, KM06, SM04, SM05

According to a continuous conception of evaluation, students must adopt the skills achievement of the course through the elaboration of two mandatory final exams with a proportional value of 40% each: a theoretical one, with questions of a thematic nature, and another practical, focused on the commentary of specific texts. The remaining 20% may be obtained as a result of a practical, written, literary analysis and interpretation exercise (genre to be determined), which will be requested mid-semester. Also, the final grade may be susceptible to an upward correction, as long as the student has actively participated in the sessions of the course.


Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items. Only students who have been previously evaluated in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade and who have obtained a minimum grade of 3.5 in the average of the course can be submitted to the recovery of the course. This one will take place at the end of the semester and will consist of a single test, on the basis of the previously failed exam(s). On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle or e-mail) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.


In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject (copy, unauthorized use of AI, etc.), the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.


This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.


SINGLE ASSESSMENT

This module does not use the single assessment system.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY


ABELLAN, Joan; BALLART, Pere; SULLÀ, Enric

1997 Introducció a la teoria de la literatura, Manresa, Angle Editorial.


AGUIAR E SILVA, Vítor Manuel de

1972 Teoría de la literatura, tr. Valentín García Yebra, Madrid, Gredos.


BALLART, Pere

1998 El contorn del poema, Barcelona Quaderns Crema, 1998 (versió espanyola: Barcelona, El Acantilado, 2005).

2023 Primera lliçó de literatura, Barcelona, Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat.


BERISTÁIN, Helena

1995 Diccionario de retórica y poética, Mèxic, Porrúa.


BRIOSCHI, Franco i DI GIROLAMO, Costanzo

1988 Introducción al estudio de la literatura, tr. Carlos Vaíllo, Barcelona, Ariel.


CESERANI, Remo

2004 Introducción a los estudios literarios, tr. David Roas, Barcelona, Crítica.


COMPAGNON, Antoine

2015 El demonio de la teoría. Literatura y sentido común, Barcelona, El Acantilado.


CULLER, Jonathan

2000 Breve introducción a la teoría literaria, tr. Gonzalo García, Barcelona, Crítica.


DOMÍNGUEZ CAPARRÓS, José

2009 Introducción a la Teoría Literaria, Madrid, UNED.


EAGLETON, Terry

1988 Una introducción a la teoría literaria, tr. José Esteban Calderón, Mèxic, FCE.

2013 El acontecimiento de la literatura, Barcelona, Península.


ESTÉBANEZ CALDERÓN, Domingo

1996 Diccionario de términos literarios, Madrid, Alianza Editorial.


FELSKI, Rita

2008 Uses of Literature, Oxford, Blackwell.


GRILLO TORRES, María Paz

2004 Compendio de teoría teatral, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva.


KING, Stephen

2018 Escriure. Memòries d'un ofici, Barcelona, L'Altra Editorial.


LODGE, David

1998 L’art de la ficció, tr. Montserrat Lunati i Jordi Larios, Barcelona, Empúries.


MEDEL, Elena

2018 Todo lo que hay que saber sobre poesía, Barcelona, Ariel.


NÚÑEZ RAMOS, Rafael

1992 La poesía, Madrid, Síntesis.


PAVIS,Patrice

1980 Diccionario del teatro, tr. Fernando de Toro, Barcelona, Paidós, 1999.


SULLÀ, Enric (ed.)

1985 Poètica de la narració, Barcelona, Empúries.


VILLANUEVA, Darío (coord.)

1994 Curso de teoría de la literatura, Madrid, Taurus.

2016 Lo que Borges enseñó a Cervantes. Una introducción a la literatura comparada, Madrid, Taurus.


WELLEK, René i WARREN, Austin

1979 Teoría literaria, tr. José Mª Gimeno, Madrid, Gredos.


WOOD, James

2009 Los mecanismos de la ficción. Cómo se construye una novela, tr. Ana Herrera, Madrid, Gredos.


Software

None.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed