The aim of the course is a literary analysis of classical mythology, folklore and Biblical motifs in literary texts from antiquity to the present that incorporate images of women shown in similar or varied literary models. The method of intertextuality calls for a comparative analysis of relevant mythical and biblical texts and the study of their reception in recent Slovenian literature at a literary level. Students will deal with images of women and their real and symbolic significance and order them into the broader social and cultural-historical contexts; they will do so by means of thematic and comparative analyses as well as by means of literary interpretation that encompasses interdisciplinary awareness of anthropology and philosophy.
Previous knowledge from literary-theoretical courses is required, and the course is linked to the fields of Slovenian and world literatures, anthropology, cultural studies and gender studies. Knowledge from the field of feminist literary studies is recommended, especially views of female characters in literature studies of images of women.
The course makes use of independent use of various methodological approaches in investigating images of women, among them methods from reception theory, hermeneutics, intertextuality and structural anthropology in investigations of archetypes and myths in literature.
Students will become familiar with representations and roles of female literary characters in influential works from Slovenian and world folk and mythological traditions as well as from artistic literature.
At the forefront of literary analysis and interpretation are tales, stories, narratives and songs about the actions of female mythological characters β heroines in the Babylonian-Assyrian, Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Ancient Greek and other mythological traditions; about images of female characters in the biblical texts and about influential female characters in the Slovenian folklore tradition in the European context the Slovenian Fair Vida as compared to female characters from European Mediterranean countries, etc.
