Literary Theory II: Literature, History and the archive (copy)

Problems of periodisation

when does a period really begin and end? which contexts can adequately describe the period? Ernst Bloch: "the simultaneity of the non-simultaneous"

New historicism pioneered...

a new understanding of the relationship between literature and historical material

Important differences between old and new historicism

• approach to the relationship between literary and historical material

• understanding of history and of the way in which we can "know" the past

New historicist approaches to literature and historical sources

-parallel reading of literary and historical sources from the same period, no hierarchy between literary and non-literary sources: CO-TEXTS

interest in placing literary texts in dialogue with a wide range of historical sources

Louis Montrose: "the historicity of texts and the textuality of history"

→ Texts are products of the historical moment of their production: They carry traces of that moment within them.

→ "History" only exists in textual form, as disparate, subjective textual documents which are our only access to the past.

Hayden White: historiography and narrative techniques

→ Writing history means creating a plausible, convincing narrative based on records of historical events that are actually disparate/separate

Michel Foucault: discourse analysis- "knowledge systems" and power

→ "discourse" according to Foucault: an established manner of speaking/thinking about a topic, thereby creating knowledge and realities; charged with power, e.g. medical discourses cast people as "ill" and in need of therapy/correction → historical example of "hysteria" as a discursively create and maintained phenomenon

discourses are changeable constructs and historically contingent

Stephen Greenblatt:

literature is influenced by discourses and can confirm/

challenge/change a particular discourse