Rhetorics, Literary Theory, Linguistics and the Idea of Beauty in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment

Course examines the history of rhetoric, literary theory, linguistics and linguistic thought, and the study of the beautiful in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. The main aim of the course is to provide students with multidisciplinary insight into all areas related to literary creation in the period from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment within the European region. Students acquire familiarity with the broader context in which individual literary works were produced.

Successful understanding of the material involves subject areas covered in the social sciences and the humanities. Good knowledge of the basic literary-theoretical concepts is required, as well as a good command of standard English, German or French.

1. A history of rhetoric from the Middle Ages to the
   Enlightenment (11)
   - definition of basic rhetorical concepts
   - rhetoric treating quinque partes
   artis (five parts of rhetoric)
   - manuals of preaching (ars concionandi)
   - the rhetoric of letter-writing (ars epistolica)
   - collections of examples
   - the rhetoric of figures and tropes
   - the rhetoric of memory (ars memorativa)
   - the rhetoric of delivery (actio/pronuntiatio)
   - rhetorical manuals relevant to
   the Slovene area
   - an overview of the use of rhetorical skills in
   Slovenian and European literature in
   the period under consideration and analysis of
   of texts from different periods
   - the methodology of the history of early literature
   - the original and the unoriginal in early literature
   - the literary and non-literary character of works of the 16th century.

2. Literary theory (5)
   - the relationship between today's
   literary-theoretical concepts and rhetorical
   theory
   - the application of contemporary literary theory to the
   texts of early literature
   - discussion of literary-theoretical and
   rhetorical themes in contemporary education

3. History of linguistics and linguistic thought (7)
   - historical overview of the basic concepts of
   historical socio-linguistics
   - a historical overview of basic grammars,
   dictionaries and linguistic writings in Europe
   (in terms of influence on Slovenian thought on
   language)
   - the history of language policy in
   Sloveni in comparison with that of Europe
   - the influence of linguistic thought on literary work

"The operation is part-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. The operation is implemented within the framework of the Operational Programme for the Development of Human Resources for the period 2007-2013, Development Priority 3: Development of Human Resources and Lifelong Learning; Priority 3.3: Quality, Competitiveness and Responsiveness of Higher Education".

1. The Doctrine of the Beautiful in Europe (7)
   - what is the doctrine of the beautiful
   - basic concepts of aesthetics
   - the notion of the beautiful and the ugly in the contemporary
   Europe

EXERCISES
Tutorials are held in parallel to the lectures and are
related to the individual thematic strands
of lectures. The main focus is on working with sources
and on the active analysis of these sources.

On completion of the course, the student will possess knowledge of the history of rhetoric since the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, the relationship between rhetoric and literary theory, the history of linguistics and the history of rhetoric, the history of linguistic thought, and the doctrine of the beautiful in Europe in the period under consideration.

• Ahačič, K. 2007. Zgodovina misli o jeziku in književnosti na Slovenskem: protestantizem (Zbirka Linguistica et philologica, 18). Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU. Catalogue
• Eco, U. 2006. Zgodovina lepote. Ljubljana: Modrijan.
• Eco, U. 2008. Zgodovina grdega. Ljubljana: Modrijan.
• Lausberg, H. 1967. Elemente der literarischen Rhetorik. München: Max Hueber Verlag.
• Lausberg, H. 1990. Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik: Eine Grundegung der Literaturwissenschaft. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
• Law, V. 2003. The History of Linguistics in Europe from Plato to 1600. Cambridge: University Press. Catalogue
• Padley, G. A. 1976. Grammatical Theory in Western Europe 1500–1700: The Latin Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. E-version
• Padley, G. A. 1985. Grammatical Theory in Western Europe 1500–1700: Trends in Vernacular Grammar I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. E-version
• Plett, H. F. 2001. Einführung in die rhetorische Textanalyse. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. Catalogue
• Tatarkiewicz, W. 2000. Zgodovina šestih pojmov: umetnost, lépo, forma, ustvarjanje, prikazovanje, estetski doživljaj. Ljubljana: Literarno‐umetniško društvo Literatura. Catalogue
• Reviews of the history of Slovenian literature and manuals of literary theory.
• Silva rhetoricae – The Forest of Rhetoric. humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Silva.htm. E-version
• The basic sources (in Latin) are available online.

Pogoj za pristop k izpitu je
aktivna udeležba na vajah.

Študent opravlja ustni izpit iz
celotne snovi predmeta. Ustni
izpit je namenjen ocenjevanju
znanja, ki ga je študent/ka
pridobil/a na predavanjih in
vajah ter sposobnosti
razumevanja, artikuliranja in
podajanja snovi.

100 %
ustni izpit / oral exam
The prerequisite for taking the exam is active participation.

The oral exam covers material from the whole course. The exam assesses knowledge acquired from the lectures and from assignments and how well students understand, articulate and deliver course contents.

Reference nosilca / Lecturer's references:

Assoc. Prof. Kozma Ahačič, PhD is a lecturer in linguistics at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Nova Gorica, and a researcher in the preparation of the 16th-century Dictionary of the Slovene Literary Language and the head of the Section for the History of the Slovene Language at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, ZRC SAZU. His research focuses on the history of grammarians and the thought of language, and some other related issues. He is the author of several books and co-editor of the journal Slovene Language/Slovene Linguistic Studies.

Kozma AHAČIČ, Andreja LEGAN RAVNIKAR, Majda, MERŠE, Jožica NARAT, France
NOVAK.Besedje slovenskega knjižnega jezika 16. stoletja. Založba ZRC, Ljubljana, 2011, 641 str.
Kozma AHAČIČ. Zgodovina misli o jeziku na Slovenskem: katoliška doba (1600–1758).
Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2012, 278 str.
Kozma AHAČIČ. The treatment of »nomen« in the first Slovenian grammar (Bohorič1584).
Historiographia linguistica35/3 (2008), str. 2–31.
Kozma AHAČIČ. Zgodovina misli o jeziku in književnosti na Slovenskem: protestantizem.