LMKB406 Ekphrasis

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2014
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Stanislava Fedrová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Zbyněk Fišer, Ph.D.
Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Eva Zachová
Supplier department: Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Monday 12:30–15:45 zrusena M13
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The seminar introduces the basic outlines of tradition and forms of the genre of ekphrasis from its beginnings to the present time, it is methodologically anchored in the studies of intermediality. The interpretation will seek to find and naming specific ekphrastic techniques and gestures, such as: How can the act of perceiving and observing a visual representation be realized in the structure of its verbal representation? How does a static description become dynamic through direct integration of ekphrasis into the structure of the narrative – into the structure of a particular scene (microstructure of an action) or the plot as a whole (macrostructure of a story)? What are the roles and functions of ekphrastic passages in the framework of the text as a whole (ekphrasis need not be simply a pause in the narration which is easy to eliminate)? Or, how can the verbal medium, using its own means, imitate or simulate the media-specific techniques of another type of art.
Interpretations will be focus to the constituent, classical texts of this genre (Homer, Vergil, Philostratus, John Keats) and also to selected examples from Czech (e.g. Jaroslav Vrchlický, Julius Zeyer, Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Alois Jirásek, Jaroslav Durych, Bohumil Hrabal, Miloš Urban) and other-languages literature (e.g. Vladimir Nabokov, John Fowles, John Bannville).
After finishing the course the student will be able to
- basic orientation in the history of this genre and in current interntational literary theory debate on ekphrasis
- interpret ekphrastic texts
- understand the intermediate links between literature and visual arts
- use the acquired knowledge in related disciplines
Syllabus
  • 1. An introduction to the tradition of ekphrasis as rhetorical categories and as genre and also to ekphrasis as an object of scientific interest
  • 2. Achilles shield from different angles: the allure of description
  • 3. Philostratus and the birth of an ekphrasis as genre
  • 4. The concept of standing/frozen time and bridge the gap of time by art Or From English Romanticist through Jaroslav Vrchlický to Wisława Szymborska
  • 5. Gaze and glance, watching and observing Or Who’s there an observer?
  • 6. Still images of a moment and/versus (their?) narrative succesivity Or The limits of description and narration
Teaching methods
combination of explication, discussion, interpretation of texts and prepared papers
Assessment methods
Conditions of obtaining credit:
- active participation in the course
- short informative paper during the course
- short tutorial work with own interpretation of a chosen ekphrastic text
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět bude otevřen a vyučován při minimálním počtu 6 zapsaných studujících.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 0.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2014/LMKB406