PdF:AJc225 American Culture, History and - Course Information

AJc225 American Culture, History and Literature 2

Extent and Intensity

0/0/2. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught in person.

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Barbora Kašpárková, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

doc. Mgr. Světlana Hanušová, 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

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

• DAP English Language and Literature Teacher Education for Lower Secondary Schools (programme PdF, C-CV)
• English Language Teacher Education for Lower Secondary Schools (programme PdF, C-CV)
• English Language Teacher Education for Lower Secondary Schools – qualification to teach another subject (programme PdF, C-CV)
• ZS1 English Language Teacher Education for Lower Secondary Schools (programme PdF, C-CV)

Course objectives

This is the second half of a survey course of American History and American Literature covering the period from late 19th century to late 20th century. Its aim is to explore the major as well as some of the lesser-known writers, literary movements, major historical events, trends and cultural concepts and make meaningful connections between them; and also to provide the historical, literary and cultural background necessary for those intending to be become English language teachers.
At the end of this course, students should be able
1) to identify and evaluate the main currents of U.S. cultural history and especially their causes and consequences in relation to modern American culture and society
2) to understand how myths about America’s foundation and iconic historical events have been formulated, debated and challenged by American writers
3) to discuss the role of gender, culture and race in shaping the forms and themes of literary texts
In teacher training programs, students must also develop a range of skills and competencies to be successful as teachers. Literary courses are instrumental in cultivating some of these skills, such as creative thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, intercultural awareness, and communicative competence.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students should be able
1) to identify and evaluate the main currents of U.S. cultural history and especially their causes and consequences in relation to modern American culture and society
2) to understand how myths about America’s foundation and iconic historical events have been formulated, debated and challenged by American writers
3) to discuss the role of gender, culture and race in shaping the forms and themes of literary texts

Syllabus

• Breaking the Tradition
• America on Wheels: The Roaring 20s
• Modernist poetry and fiction (W. C. Williams, e. e. cummings, Wallece Stevens, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway)
• African American Experience
• Life after Slavery: Reconstruction and Jim Crow
• Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston)
• Breaking Apart
• The Great Depression
• Southern Renaissance (William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor)
• Convention Meets Rebellion
• The Cold War and McCarthyism
• Poetic movements (Frank O´Hara, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath)
• New Ideas, New Values
• Civil Rights and Social Protest
• Modern Multi-Cultural America

Literature

• American passages : a literary survey. Edited by Diane O'Connor. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004, xliv, 808. ISBN 0393979407. info
• 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
• 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 seminars
group work

Assessment methods

1) Response papers (1 for each seminar), focusing on one text from the assigned reading
2) colloquium (consisting of 3 parts: first, the student talks about the chosen topic; then they analyze a short literary extract; and finally speak about literary texts they have read)

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 24 hodin.

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2025/AJc225