AJ2RC_AML2 British and American Literature Since 1945

Faculty of Education
Spring 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/0/24. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Irena Přibylová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Irena Přibylová, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJ2RC_AML2/OS01: Fri 28. 2. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, Fri 21. 3. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, Fri 4. 4. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, Fri 18. 4. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, Fri 2. 5. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, Fri 23. 5. 9:20–11:00 učebna 64, I. Přibylová
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course will be an introductory, but intensive survey of selected representative contemporary British and American writers and trends after 1945 to the present. We will focus on current most visible literary trends, and writers' responses to earlier traditions of realism, modernism and colonialism, exploring the techniques of narrative fiction, and non-fiction; we will also explore the themes the authors raise as they both acknowledge and contribute to the increasingly postcolonial and/or postmodern experience of British and American cultures. Cultural, historical, and theoretical context will be provided and discussed, while primary or secondary readings are to be utilized. Method of close reading would allow us to observe relevant themes and historical context. The seminar is based on active reading and analysis of selected extracts; other activities and discussions are encouraged.
Syllabus
  • 1. Survey of literary trends since 1945. Internationalization of the prose; roles of history, geography and identity; intersections of gender, class, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and nation; immigrant fiction moves into mainstream. 2. US Prose and ethnic diversity. Focus on Asian-American, Native American, Afro-American and Chicano authors, and their texts. Problematic multiculturalism, pressures of global consumerism; cultural hybridity; theories of race, ethnicity, whiteness. (Sandra Cisneros, Leslie Marmon Silko, Alice Walker) 3. British Diaspora. Focus on Ethnic or International British Writing, British South Asian, African British writing. Global literature and culture, cosmopolitanism and universal features of British literature. (V.S.Naipaul, Nadine Gordimer, Salman Rushdie) 4. Contemporary British Literature. "Englishness", and Millenial anxieties over quintessential Englishman in a modern age.Trends and authors: modern into postmodern, realist into hyperrealist, rediscovery of victorian values and the neovictoriana, cyberspace, and millennium fiction. (Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, John Fowles, Anthony Burgess, Julian Barnes, Janice Galloway) 5. Gender, Body and Literature. Boundaries between masculine and feminine. Self-discovery, and the reinvention of bodies and selves; self-conscious and self-reflexive narratives. Theories of sex, gender; the queer. (J. Winterson, A. S. Byatt, Iris Murdoch, Sarah Waters, Ali Smith) 6. Topics and shapes of contemporary US literature. Focus on Jewish.
Literature
  • The Columbia history of the American novel. Edited by Emory Elliott - Cathy N. Davidson. New York: Columbia University, 1991, xviii, 905. ISBN 0-231-07360-7. info
  • The Heath anthology of American literature. Edited by Paul Lauter. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1990, xxxix, 261. ISBN 0-669-12065-0. info
  • Columbia literary history of the United States. Edited by Emory Elliott. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988, xxviii, 12. ISBN 0-231-05812-8. info
Teaching methods
Discussion based seminar, that requires active home reading and writing of three one-page critical response papers. These activities allow students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in literary, cultural and language fields of study that build upon students' general secondary education. More so, students are to develop their ability to gather and interpret relevant data, to form judgements that include reflection on relevant literary, social, or ethical issues; students practice to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. Last but not least students are to develop learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy.
Assessment methods
Course requirements: 1) 80% attendance (if you miss more than two classes, then you have to work on reading journals for each class missed) 2) Read the material assigned in the syllabus (it will be checked by in-class quizzes) 3) At least five contributions to mood-link forums 4) Occasional mood-link tasks 5) Credit test
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=1012
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2014/AJ2RC_AML2