Geneva School
Encyclopedia
The expression Geneva School refers to (1) a group of linguists based in Geneva who pioneered modern structural linguistics
and (2) a group of literary theorists and critics working from a phenomenological perspective.
. Other important colleagues and students of Saussure who comprise this school include Albert Sechehaye, Albert Riedlinger, Serge Karcevski and Charles Bally
.
The most significant linguistic book connected with this school is Cours de linguistique générale, the main work of de Saussure, which was published by his students Charles Bally and Albert Sehechaye. The book was based on lectures with this title that de Saussure gave three times in Geneva from 1906 to 1912. Sehechaye and Bally did not themselves take part in these lecture classes, but they used notes from other students. The most important of these students was Albert Riedlinger, who provided them with the most material. Furthermore Bally and Sehechaye continued to develop de Saussure's theories, mainly focusing on the linguistic research of speech. Sehechaye also concentrated on syntactic problems.
From 1883 to 1885 he studied classic language and literature in Geneva. He continued his studies from 1886 to 1889 in Berlin where he was awarded a PhD. After his studies he worked as a private teacher for the royal family of Greece form 1889 to 1883. Bally returned to Geneva and taught at a business school from 1893 on and moved to the Progymnasium, a grammar school, from 1913 to 1939. At the same time, he worked as PD at the university form 1893 to 1913. Finally from 1913 to 1939 he had a professorship for general linguistic and comparative Indo-German studies which he took over from Ferdinand de Saussure.
Besides his works about subjectivity in the French Language
he also wrote about the crisis in French language and language classes.
Today Charles Bally is regarded as the founding-father of linguistic theories of style and much honored for his theories of phraseology
.
Works by Charles Bally:
Recommended Literature about Bally's theories:
, and the Swiss critics Marcel Raymond
, Albert Béguin, Jean Rousset
and Jean Starobinski
. The critics Emil Staiger, Gaston Bachelard
, and J. Hillis Miller
are also sometimes associated with this group.
Growing out of Russian Formalism
and Phenomenology (such as in the work of Edmund Husserl
), the "Geneva School" used the phenomenological method to attempt to analyse works of literature as representations of deep structures of an author's consciousness and his or her relationship to the real world. Biographical criticism was however avoided, as these critics focused primarily on the work of art itself – treated as an organic whole and considered a subjective interpretation of reality (the German concept of Lebenswelt) – and sought out the recurrent themes and images, especially those concerning time and space and the interactions between the self and others.
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
and (2) a group of literary theorists and critics working from a phenomenological perspective.
Geneva School of Linguistics
The most prominent figure of the Geneva School of Linguistics school was Ferdinand de SaussureFerdinand de Saussure
Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist whose ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in linguistics in the 20th century. He is widely considered one of the fathers of 20th-century linguistics...
. Other important colleagues and students of Saussure who comprise this school include Albert Sechehaye, Albert Riedlinger, Serge Karcevski and Charles Bally
Charles Bally
Charles Bally was a French linguist from the Geneva School. He lived from 1865 to 1947 and was, like Ferdinand de Saussure, from Switzerland. His parents were Jean Gabriel, a teacher, and Henriette, the owner of a cloth store...
.
The most significant linguistic book connected with this school is Cours de linguistique générale, the main work of de Saussure, which was published by his students Charles Bally and Albert Sehechaye. The book was based on lectures with this title that de Saussure gave three times in Geneva from 1906 to 1912. Sehechaye and Bally did not themselves take part in these lecture classes, but they used notes from other students. The most important of these students was Albert Riedlinger, who provided them with the most material. Furthermore Bally and Sehechaye continued to develop de Saussure's theories, mainly focusing on the linguistic research of speech. Sehechaye also concentrated on syntactic problems.
Charles Bally
In addition to his edition of de Saussure's lectures, Charles Bally also played an important role in linguistics. He lived from 1865 to 1947 and was, like de Saussure, from Switzerland. His parent were Jean Gabriel, a teacher and Henriette, the owner of a cloth store. Bally was married three times: first with Valentine Leirens, followed by Irma Baptistine Doutre, who was sent into a mental institution in 1915 and Alice Bellicot.From 1883 to 1885 he studied classic language and literature in Geneva. He continued his studies from 1886 to 1889 in Berlin where he was awarded a PhD. After his studies he worked as a private teacher for the royal family of Greece form 1889 to 1883. Bally returned to Geneva and taught at a business school from 1893 on and moved to the Progymnasium, a grammar school, from 1913 to 1939. At the same time, he worked as PD at the university form 1893 to 1913. Finally from 1913 to 1939 he had a professorship for general linguistic and comparative Indo-German studies which he took over from Ferdinand de Saussure.
Besides his works about subjectivity in the French Language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
he also wrote about the crisis in French language and language classes.
Today Charles Bally is regarded as the founding-father of linguistic theories of style and much honored for his theories of phraseology
Phraseology
In linguistics, phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units , in which the component parts of the expression take on a meaning more specific than or otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when...
.
Works by Charles Bally:
- Traité de stylistique française, 1909
- Le Langage et la Vie, 1913
- Linguistique générale et linguistique française, 1932
Recommended Literature about Bally's theories:
- G. Redard, Bibliographie chronologique des publications de Charles Bally, in Cahiers Ferdinand de Saussure 36, 1982, 25-41
- W. Hellmann, Charles Bally, 1988
- S. Durrer, Introduction à la linguistique de Charles Bally, 1998
Geneva School of Literary Criticism
The expression "Geneva School" is also applied to a group of literary critics in the 1950s and 1960s, of which the most important were the Belgian critic Georges Poulet, the French critic Jean-Pierre RichardJean-Pierre Richard
Jean-Pierre Richard, is a French writer and literary critic.- Biography :Jean-Pierre Richard began his advanced studies at the École normale supérieure in the rue d'Ulm in 1941, passed the "agrégation" in literature in 1945, and got his doctoral degree in 1962...
, and the Swiss critics Marcel Raymond
Marcel Raymond
Marcel Raymond was a Swiss literary critic who specialized in French literature. He is generally grouped with the so-called "Geneva School".-Biography:...
, Albert Béguin, Jean Rousset
Jean Rousset
Jean Rousset was a Swiss literary critic who worked on French literature, and in particular on Baroque literature of the late Renaissance and early seventeenth century. He is sometimes grouped with the Geneva School and with early Structuralism.-Biography:Jean Rousset began his studies in law,...
and Jean Starobinski
Jean Starobinski
Jean Starobinski is a Swiss literary critic.-Biography:Jean Starobinski studied classical literature, and then medicine at the University of Geneva, and graduated from that school with a doctorate in letters and in medicine...
. The critics Emil Staiger, Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter he introduced the concepts of epistemological obstacle and epistemological break...
, and J. Hillis Miller
J. Hillis Miller
Joseph Hillis Miller, Jr. is an American literary critic who has been heavily influenced by—and who has heavily influenced—deconstruction.- Early life and education :...
are also sometimes associated with this group.
Growing out of Russian Formalism
Russian formalism
Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. It includes the work of a number of highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars such as Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Vladimir Propp, Boris Eichenbaum, Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur who...
and Phenomenology (such as in the work of Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
), the "Geneva School" used the phenomenological method to attempt to analyse works of literature as representations of deep structures of an author's consciousness and his or her relationship to the real world. Biographical criticism was however avoided, as these critics focused primarily on the work of art itself – treated as an organic whole and considered a subjective interpretation of reality (the German concept of Lebenswelt) – and sought out the recurrent themes and images, especially those concerning time and space and the interactions between the self and others.
Other works
- Robert MagliolaRobert MagliolaRoberto Rino Magliola is an Italian-American academic specializing in European hermeneutics and deconstruction, in comparative philosophy, and in inter-religious dialogue...
. Phenomenology and Literature: An Introduction. Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1977; 1978.