A. Defamiliarization → III. Viktor Shklovsky. ✅ A - III
Explanation: The concept of defamiliarization (or ostranenie) was coined by Viktor Shklovsky, a Russian Formalist.
It refers to the literary technique of making the familiar appear strange or new, to enhance perception of the ordinary.
Example in practice: Tolstoy describing habits or emotions in an unfamiliar way to force readers to truly "see" them.
Uncanny → IV. Sigmund Freud. ✅ B - IV
Explanation: The uncanny (das Unheimliche) is a Freudian concept referring to something that is strangely familiar, yet alien or unsettling.
Freud explored how repressed fears or desires return in distorted forms, often in literature or dreams.
Example in practice: Doppelgängers, haunted houses, dolls with lifelike features.
Actor Network Theory → II. Bruno Latour. ✅ C - II
Explanation: Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is a theoretical and methodological approach developed by Bruno Latour (with Callon and Law).
It suggests that human and non-human entities (technologies, texts, institutions) all participate as "actors" in forming social networks.
Example in practice: A scientific fact is not just “discovered” but constructed through a network of lab instruments, scientists, publications, etc.
Homo Sacer → I. Giorgio Agamben. ✅ D - I
Explanation: Giorgio Agamben, an Italian philosopher, introduced the concept of Homo Sacer in his book Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life.
It refers to a person who is banned and may be killed but not sacrificed—excluded from the law and the political community.
Example in practice: Stateless persons, refugees, or people in Guantanamo Bay-like spaces.
Year-wise PYQs
