Dissertation committee:
Γεωργία Καλογήρου, Καθηγήτρια Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών (Επιβλέπουσα)
Ευαγγελία Γαλανάκη, Καθηγήτρια Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
Βασίλειος Πανταζής, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Προσχολικής Εκπαίδευσης Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλίας
Summary:
The present thesis studies the empathetic response in reading poetry, a particular literary genre, which predominantly motivates the emotions of the reader. Based on the review of the conceptual content of empathy in relation to the literary theory, a basic assumption of this thesis is the investigation of the empathetic response of pupils of primary school to poetry, through reading poems in their school textbooks. For this purpose, initially, at the first (theoretical) part of the present thesis, the literature review aims at the clarification and definition of the concept and its individual dimensions through various theoretical approaches historically, while in the second (research) part individual aspects of the central topic are investigated, through the application of phenomenological case study (pupils of the sixth grade of primary school, 11-12 years old).
Although the results of this research do not seek generalizations, the findings are clear and confirm the ways in which the reader approaches, understands and evaluates a poem. In this context, empathetic response is recorded as a complex process of the reader’s inner experiencing of the poem, capable of contributing to the deeper understanding of the self and the other. As the reader becomes involved emotionally, s/he gains experience and consciousness of the emotional state of the self and the other, which s/he transforms and extends, in order to understand it, interpret it and assign meaning and value to it. Through the relationship of the reader with his/her own self and the world of the poem, there is demonstrated the importance of empathetic responsiveness, which gives the opportunity to the reader to understand, interpret and critically reflect, to “see”, eventually, his/her own self and the others and communicate with them under a new perspective.
With the detection, representation and description of the multiple dimensions of the response of this kind, the way opens up for further investigation of the matter. The inherent qualities of empathetic response render necessary its application and adoption as a teaching principle for the purpose of literary education, as well as the methodological renewal and the enrichment of the teaching approaches of poetry and literature in general.
Keywords:
empathy, poetry, reader, empathetic response, phenomenological case study
