AJ14151 New Technologies and Modernist Literature

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2016
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)
Dr. Nicoletta Asciuto (lecturer), Mgr. Filip Krajník, Ph.D. (deputy)
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 19. 9. to Fri 23. 9. each working day 10:50–12:25 VP, each working day 14:10–15:45 VP
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 7 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/7, only registered: 0/7, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/7
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Today, we tend to take technological advancements for granted: the twentieth century has created a frenetic turnover of technologies which have shaped, and continue to shape, our interaction with the world, and with other human beings — the radio, television, telephone, the Internet, the machine, airplanes, are only few of the revolutionary technological advancements brought forward in the twentieth century. In this one-week course we shall look at the outbreak of this “new modernity” and more specifically at how people reacted to these technological transitions in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and how this is represented in literature. Did you know that E. M. Forster (1879-1970) first mentioned something resembling Skype in one of his short stories? Or that R. L. Stevenson (1850-1894) wrote against the coming of electric lighting? Can you guess when telephones were first mentioned in literature? Or trams? This one-week course will look at literary representations of what were considered new technologies in the early twentieth century, with particular focus on electricity and electric light, communication technologies (the telephone), visual technologies (cinema, photography, etc.), and transport technologies (i.e. railways/tram, car/motorcycle). Although the focus of this module will be on Modernism, we will also look at the late Victorian/Edwardian age and at Continental European avant-garde movements (i.e. Italian Futurism) as points of comparison and contrast. The main objectives of this module will be: - To familiarize English literature students with Modernism and more generally with twentieth-century literature; - To engage students with new, interdisciplinary perspective on research (Literature, History, History of Technology, Comparative Literature), which will enrich the ways in which we understand modern literature and also modern history; - To have students practise discussion on a selection of literary texts, as well as to enable them to further discuss their research with a written output. The module will be structured in a series of 5 lectures and 5 seminars. The seminars will follow the lectures on the same day and in the seminars we will engage directly with a selection of texts, which should prompt a fruitful and friendly discussion for a better understanding of technological change and early twentieth-century literature. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are welcome. In order to receive credits for attending this course, you will be required to submit an essay on technology in Modernism (a list of essay questions will be provided, or you can liaise with me on an essay topic of your choice) two weeks after the end of the module. Undergraduate (BA) students will be required to submit a 2,500-word essay, while postgraduates (MA) a 5,000 word essay. The essay will be marked and returned to students with written feedback.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminar discussions over assigned reading
Assessment methods
Full attendance; final essay
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Information on the per-term frequency of the course: Intensive course.
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