AJ14061 Aspects of the Twentieth Century British Short Story

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 18:00–19:40 G22
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination || AJ01002 Practical English II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will look at a selection of short stories by writers from the British Isles, focusing mainly on writers from the earlier part of the twentieth century and contemporary authors. The aim will be to explore and compare the formal elements of the stories and relate them to the experiential areas with which they engage. This will involve a brief exposure to elements of narrative theory.By the end of the course the student will have written an essay in which they demonstrate their ability to analyze aspects of the short fiction discussed in terms of relating form to content in the ways covered in the course.During the course students will be expected to discuss ways in which formal elements of the stories discussed deviate from traditional norms and the way in which these formal innovations impinge upon the authors' concern with their subject matter.Students will also be expected to gain the skill of going beyond discussing characters as if they were simply depictions of people and the notion of writers depicting a ready-made world by attempting to think of the way in which an author's narrative organizes events and the precise role which character functions play in a given story.
Learning outcomes
Students completing the course will have been exposed to a range of primarily twentieth short fiction and have discussed and analysed specific elements in terms of not only the content but also the narrative presentation of some of the stories considered. In this way they will have gained a better knowledge of specific and highly sophisticated forms of verbal/written presentation and the kinds of strategies involved in such presentations.
Syllabus
  • Week 1:Sept.16th:ORIENTATION WEEK: NO SEMINAR Week 2:Sept 23rd:Introductory Week 3: Sept 30th:Thomas Hardy:An Imaginative Woman; On the Western Circuit Week 4:Oct.7th:Henry James: The Aspern Papers; The Turn of the Screw Week 5:Oct 14th:Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness Week 6:Oct 21st:James Joyce; The Sisters; Eveline; Araby; A Painful Case; The Dead Week 7:Oct 28th:READING WEEK: NO LESSON Week 8:Nov.4th:D.H.Lawrence:England,My England; Tickets Please; The Blind Man Week 9:Nov.11th:Katherine Mansfield: Prelude; Bliss; The Garden Party; Daughters of the Late Colonel; Week 10:Nov.18th:Samuel Beckett: Dante and The Lobster; Walking Out; Yellow Week 11:Nov.25th:Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber; A Souvenir of Japan; Flesh and the Mirror; Reflections Week 12:Dec.2nd:Pat Barker:Kelly Brown; Joanne Wilson; Iris King; Blonde Dinah Week 13: Dec.9th: John Berger: Pig Earth: Introduction; A Question of Place; The Value of Money; The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol (Other Selected Stories available on ELF BUT NOT FOR CLASS DISCUSSION): P.G. Wodehouse: Unpleasantness at Bloodleigh Court; Elizabeth Bowen: The Dancing Mistress; Henry Green; The Lull; Roald Dahl: Someone Like You; Muriel Spark: Bang, Bang You're Dead; V.S Pritchett: The Camberwell Beauty; Jean Rhys: Pioneers, Oh, Pioneers; Ian McEwan: Pornography.
Literature
  • Hardy, Thomas Life's Little Ironies Oxford Oxford University Press 1996
  • Lawrence, D.H. Selected Short Stories London Penguin 1982
  • Beckett, Samuel More Pricks Than Kicks, London, John Calder, 1993
  • Joyce, James Dubliners London Penguin 1992
  • Lawrence, D.H, The Complete Short Novels, Harmondswoth, Penguin, 1990
  • In the cage. Edited by Henry James. London: Electric Book Co., 2001, 124 p. ISBN 1901843939. info
  • The Aspern papers. Edited by Henry James. London: Electric Book Co., 2001, 122 p. ISBN 184327082X. info
  • CONRAD, Joseph. Heart of darkness. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1994, 110 s. ISBN 0140620486. info
  • CARTER, Angela. The bloody chamber and other stories. London: Victor Gollancz, 1989, 157 s. ISBN 0575025840. info
  • CARTER, Angela. Fireworks. London: Virago Press, 1988, 120 s. ISBN 0-86068-402-4. info
  • BARKER, Pat. Union Street. London: Virago Press, 1982, 265 s. ISBN 9780860682837. info
  • MANSFIELD, Katherine. In a German pension. Edited by John Middleton Murry. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1964, 116 stran. ISBN 0140021817. info
  • MANSFIELD, Katherine. The garden party and other stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1951, 254 s. info
  • CONRAD, Joseph. Typhoon and other stories. New York: Doubleday, Doran and company, 1938, 277 s. info
  • MANSFIELD, Roger and Katherine MANSFIELD. The garden party and other stories [Mansfield, 1928, Constable]. London: Constable, 1928, 276 s. info
  • MANSFIELD, Roger and Katherine MANSFIELD. Bliss and other stories. London: Constable, 1920, 279 s. info
  • CONRAD, Joseph. The shadow-line : a confession [Conrad, 1917]. London: J. M. Dent, 1917, 227 s. info
Teaching methods
Teaching by close reading, and ninety minute weekly seminar discussion including group or pairwork.
Assessment methods
Credit requirements: Class contribution (40%), essay (6-8 pages) (60%). Essays should be submitted to my IS address by e-mail attachment.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=719
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2018.
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