PdF:AJ1301 British History, Culture and L - Course Information

AJ1301 British History, Culture and Literature I

Extent and Intensity

0/3/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Jiří Šalamoun, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, 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

AJ1301/Kombi01: Fri 20. 9. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Fri 4. 10. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Fri 18. 10. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Fri 8. 11. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Fri 22. 11. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Fri 6. 12. 8:00–9:50 učebna 57, 10:00–10:50 učebna 57, Z. Janík, J. Šalamoun
AJ1301/Prez01: Mon 12:00–12:50 učebna 4, Mon 14:00–15:50 učebna 6, Z. Janík, J. Šalamoun

Prerequisites

( AJ1102 Practical Language 1B && AJ1204 Grammar B && AJ1202 Phonetics and Phonology B )
Practical Language 1B

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

there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

Students are introduced to history, literature and culture of Great Britain from the period of Roman Britain to the end of the 18th Century. The goal is to introduce important authors, literary movements, historical events and cultural context of the given period and analyze their interrelation. Students will understand how literary texts reflect historical events and cultural myths. They will learn to identify cultural values and interpret them with the purpose to enhance respect to otherness. Students will discuss the role of context, gender, race, and ethnicity in history and in forming of literary genres and topics.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student:
• will be able to read and interpret literary texts in English in both the literary and historical context
• will be able to grasp the interdepedence of historical development and its reflection in the arts
• will have produced a given number of short response papers throughout the semester
• will have read three literary works of the period

Syllabus

• 1.Introduction to the course: organization, content, final assignments. Roman Britain
• 2. Introduction to Old English period: “The Dream of the Rood,” “Parable of the Sparrow” and riddles. Anglo-Saxon Britain I.
• 3. Beowulf: The Old English Epic Poem. Anglo-Saxon Britain II.
• 4. England in the Middle Ages and Chivalry: Gawain and the Green Knight. Early Medieval Britain.
• 5. Middle English Literature: Geoffrey Chaucer in Context. (“Prologue to Canterbury Tales” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.”). Late Medieval Britain.
• 6. Elizabethan Era: Shakespearean sonnets. The Tudor England I.
• 7. Elizabethan Era: The Many Layers of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Tudor England II.
• 9. The Dawning of a New Genre: The Novel and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (part one). The Stuarts and the Civil War (I.)
• 10. Robinson Crusoe (part two). The Stuarts and the Civil War (II.)
• 11. Satire against Progress?: Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels. Georgian Britain, the 18th Century.
• 12. William Blake and the Beginnings of Romanticism.
• 13. Summary and conclusion of the course.
• Since the combined version of this course only has six contact lessons, half of the readings will be discussed in the Moodle course.

Literature

required literature
• ALEXANDER, Michael. A history of English literature. 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, xx, 443. ISBN 9780230368316. info
• EAGLE, Dorothy. The Oxford illustrated literary guide to Great Britain and Ireland. Edited by Hilary Carnell - Meic Stephens. 2nd ed. / edited by Dorothy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, vi, 322 p. ISBN 0-19-212988-025. info

recommended literature
• The Oxford illustrated history of Britain. Edited by Kenneth O. Morgan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, 683 stran. ISBN 9780199544752. info
• SANDERS, Andrew. The short Oxford history of English literature. Third edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, vii, 756. ISBN 9780199263387. info
• STŘÍBRNÝ, Zdeněk. Dějiny anglické literatury. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 1987, 414 s. info

Teaching methods

Discussion, small group work, lecture, in class writing exercises.

Students can deliver short (5 minute) presentations on current matters influenced and interconnected with any of the discussed texts for extra points.

(The literary part of the course is inspired by the theory and practice of dialogic teaching (as proposed by Robin Alexander). To that end, each class employs a different communicative activity which is used to: (i) introduce students to some possible ways of teaching literature, (ii) enable students to understand the discussed texts on a deeper level, (iii) foster the spirit of a learning community.)

Assessment methods

Literature part:
Participation in collaborative learning and discussion based activities (25%)
Think & reflect in-class papers (25%)
Research project (50%).

History part:
6 on-line quizzes, active class participation (read e-books), 2 discussion forums.

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.

Teacher's information

http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2545
During the course, students read one longer text (a novel) and watch a Shakespearean play. Reading assignments for the remaining sessions are of a shorter nature.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
  
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