 previous article in this issue | next article in this issue  |
|
Document Details : Title: Omhelsd door de retorica. Over Lessen in literatuur van Frans Willem Korsten Author(s): VAN HEUSDEN, B. Journal: Spiegel der Letteren Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Date: 2004 Pages: 77-92 DOI: 10.2143/SDL.46.1.504895 Abstract : Lessen in literatuur [Lessons in literature] by Frans Willem Korsten offers students a concise history of European literature. In each of the twelve chapters, taking us from classical antiquity to post-colonialism, the author introduces one key-concept (such as, for instance, intertextuality or representation), which he considers of particular relevance for the study of literature in that particular historical period. In each chapter, moreover, a critical approach (e.g.: speech act-theory, rhetoric, semiotics), is introduced and applied. The book provides a wealth of historical and critical materials, of insights and references. What is badly missing, however, is a theoretical framework that would allow readers to relate the various aspects of the book to each other in a systematic way. The concept of literature, for instance, is not defined, and important questions relating to its nature remain outside the book’s scope. Korsten’s book is definitely rhetorical: (literary) phenomena are interpreted in terms of their conceptual meaning. Lessen in literatuur does not, in the end, teach us lessons about literature, but it shows us how literature could teach us lessons about cultural history. |
|
