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The Foundations of Interpretation (PHIL30024)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Email: fschro@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
We read all the time: graffiti, text messages, articles in The New York Times, fiction like Harry Potter or Shakespeare’s sonnets, scientific reports, or even philosophy articles. But what exactly is involved in understanding these texts?
“The goal of interpretation is to reconstruct the author’s intentions.” “The reader plays an essential role in determining the meaning of a text.” “The author, literature, the human subject are all dead.” “Texts should be deconstructed, not interpreted.” “Binaries like male/female also need to be deconstructed.” “Everything is a text.”
In this subject we’ll explore the theories of meaning and interpretation which ground these influential and conflicting slogans. Our starting point will be Schleiermacher’s suggestion that interpretation is a form of “mental tourism” aimed at the simulation of the author’s original mental states. All the approaches we’ll then consider will be increasingly radical departures from this simple idea. We’ll first look at German Hermeneutics (Heidegger, Gadamer, Habermas) and its concepts of the hermeneutical circle and a fusion of horizons. We’ll examine the French postmodernist tradition (Saussure, Barthes, Derrida, Butler) and the ideas of structuralism, post-structuralism and deconstruction. Finally, we’ll take a look at seminal contributions to the understanding of interpretation in the Anglo-American analytic tradition. We’ll consider whether radical interpretation – the interpretation of the language of a totally foreign culture – is possible, and if so by which methods (Quine, Davidson). We’ll also examine whether there is a robust distinction between fiction and non-fiction (Walton). We’ll ask whether fiction helps explain the mechanisms behind propaganda, whether photography is fictional (or whether it affords transparent access to the world), and whether imaginative engagement in fictional games, rather than beauty, is what’s central to art.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject will:
- have a broad grasp of a variety of competing theories and understand what would be involved in applying them to a critical reading of texts;
- have a greater awareness of the assumptions that are reinforced or challenged by different reading practices;
- engage critically with existing philosophical conversations and develop the capacity for critical and creative interventions in those discussions;
- demonstrate a high-level of fluency in communication and collaboration skills, including oral and written presentation of arguments and effective work in small and large groups;
- be prepared to engage with the possibility of radical critique of their own presuppostions and commitments.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
12.5 points (one subject) in either philosophy, social theory, linguistics, or literary theory.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
An essay
| Mid semester | 50% |
A take-home examination
| During the examination period | 50% |
Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of seminars in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. After five days late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Francois Schroeter Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours - 1 x 2 hour seminar each week. Students will also be expected to access a 1.5 hour online lecture each week Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 27 February 2023 to 28 May 2023 Last self-enrol date 10 March 2023 Census date 31 March 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2023 Assessment period ends 23 June 2023 Semester 1 contact information
Email: fschro@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 19 March 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Readings will be available online
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major Philosophy Major Philosophy Major Minor European Studies - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 19 March 2024