Specialized literary studies seminar III - Contemporary methodologies of literary studies research and their application in the analysis of Ukrainian literature 3222-52WMBL3K-N

The course is devoted to contemporary methodologies in literary studies and the possibilities of their application in the analysis of Ukrainian literature. During the course, students are introduced to selected methodological approaches developed in contemporary humanities, including literary geography, digital humanities, and ecocriticism, as well as their interpretative potential in research on literary texts and Ukrainian culture. The discussion of theoretical issues is combined with the analysis of selected examples from Ukrainian literature and with student presentations devoted to the methodologies used in their own research projects and MA theses.

Student workload:
contact hours (in class) – 30 hours
class preparation – 30 hours
preparation for the graded assessment – 30 hours
Total: 90 hours – 3 ECTS

If it is not possible to conduct classes on university premises, classes shall be held with the aid of distance learning tools, most likely Zoom, Google Meet, or others recommended by the University of Warsaw.

Course coordinators

Daria Semenova

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Students have basic information about the history of Ukrainian literature, contexts determining the literary process in Ukraine (information about the history of Ukraine, geopolitical conditions). The student possesses the ability to analyze and interpret literary texts and has a command of the Ukrainian language at a level of at least B2.

Learning outcomes

Student knows and understands:
- terminology and methodology of literary studies at an advanced level S2_W02;
- key issues related to the directions of development of contemporary Ukrainian literature at an advanced level S2_W08.

Student is able to:
- appropriately select sources and information derived from them, as well as to - creatively interpret and present information related to Ukrainian literature S2_U02;
- apply appropriate research methods and tools in the field of Ukrainian literary studies S2_U05;
- formulate and test hypotheses related to research in the field of Ukrainian literary studies S2_U08;
- independently plan and pursue lifelong learning S2_U14.

Student is ready to critically evaluate acquired knowledge and received content S2_K01.

Assessment criteria

Graded pass.
Requirements for admission to the final assessment:
- class attendance,
- systematic preparation of the assigned material for classes,
- presentation.

Assessment components:
- continuous, formative assessment (ongoing preparation for classes, active participation) – 25%,
- presentation – 25%.
- final project – 50%

The course concludes with a graded pass, where the assessment criteria are presented in the form of percentage thresholds.
98%–100% – 5! (very good grade with an exclamation mark)
91%–97% – 5 (very good grade)
84%–90% – 4+ (good plus grade)
76%–83% – 4 (good grade)
68%–75% – 3+ (satisfactory plus grade)
60%–67% – 3 (satisfactory grade)

Students are allowed two unexcused absences (out of 30 hours); each subsequent absence requires an excuse. The lecturer decides whether an absence is excused.
The form of credit for classes from which the student was absent is determined by the lecturer.
Exceeding the number of excused and unexcused absences in 50% of classes may constitute grounds for failing the course.
The student has the right to obtain a graded pass during the resit session in the same form as during the regular session.

Bibliography

A Companion to Digital Literary Studies, ed. Ray Siemens, Susan Schreibman. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008.
Franco Moretti. Distant Reading. London: Verso, 2013.
Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press, 2013.
Anderson, Lorraine, Scott P. Slovic, and John P. O’Grady. Literature and the Environment: A Reader on Nature and Culture. Pearson, 1999.
Tsymbalyuk, Darya. Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2025.
Moretti, Franco, and Alberto Piazza. Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History. Verso Books, 2007.
Piatti, Barbara, Hans Rudolf Bär, Anne-Kathrin Reuschel, Lorenz Hurni, and William Cartwright. “Mapping Literature: Towards a Geography of Fiction.” In Cartography and Art, edited by William Cartwright, Georg Gartner, and Antje Lehn. Springer Science & Business Media, 2009.
Piatti, Barbara, and Lorenz Hurni. “Cartographies of Fictional Worlds.” The Cartographic Journal 48, no. 4 (2011): 218–23.