AJ14005 British Literature: 1945 to the Present

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2008
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)
prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJ14005/A: Thu 16:40–18:15 G22, M. Franková
AJ14005/B: Thu 18:20–19:55 G22, M. Franková
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination
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 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course aims at an overview of the literary production in prose, poetry and drama of the second half of the twentieth century. This is only possible if we focus on important developments, streams, movements or changes of direction and sample them on some works of just a few out of the many writers active in the period. The seminars will consist of short introductory lectures and discussion of critical essays, short stories and poems. Participants will also be required to read three novels from the period by writers of their choice. The students will acquire survey knowledge of the period and develop skills of critical reading of literary texts.
Syllabus
  • British Literature Since 1945 Week 1: Introduction Week 2: Postwar Years Graham Greene The Invisible Japanese Gentleman John Brannigan Small Disturbances Week 3: The Angry Decade Alan Sillitoe The Fishing-boat Picture Arthur Marwick Reactions in the early fifties Week 4: Beyond Realism; the Gothic; Absurd Theatre Muriel Spark The House of the Famous Poet Week 5: The Death of the Novel? The Campus Novel David Lodge Hotel des Boobs David Lodge The Novelist at the Crossroads Week 6: Women Writers and Feminism Fay Weldon Weekend John Brannigan Discourse and subversion Week 7: The Postmodern Age Ian McEwan Psychopolis Kathleen Wheeler Post-Structuralist Theory and Fiction Week 8: The Attractions of Postmodernity Angela Carter Flesh and the Mirror A.S. Byatt A New Body of Writing: Darwin and Recent British Fiction Week 9: Postmodern Representations of the Past Rose Tremain My Wife is a White Russian John Brannigan English elegies; The politics of farewell Week 10: Mythology and Fairy Tales in Fiction and Poetry Ted Hughes Arachne Susan Sellers Myth versus Fairy tale Week 11: Beyond the Isles Julian Barnes One of a Kind Week 12: Towards the Turn of the Millenium Clive Sinclair Bedbugs John Brannigan Millennial Thinking
Literature
  • CARTER, Ronald and John MCRAE. The Routledge history of literature in English: Britain and Ireland. Edited by Malcolm Bradbury. London: Routledge. xix, 592. ISBN 0415123437. 1997. info
  • BRANNIGAN, John. Orwell to the present : literature in England, 1945-2000. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. x, 244 s. ISBN 0-333-69616-6. 2003. info
  • HILSKÝ, Martin. Současný britský román. [Jinočany]: H & H. 191 s. ISBN 80-85467-00-3. 1992. info
  • FRANKOVÁ, Milada. Britské spisovatelky na konci tisíciletí (British Women Writers at the End of the Millennium). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně. 206 pp. Spisy Masarykovy univerzity v Brně, FF, č. 325. ISBN 80-210-2148-9. 1999. info
  • FRANKOVÁ, Milada. Britské spisovatelky na přelomu tisíciletí (British Women Writers at the Turn of the Millennium). Brno: Masarykova univerzita v Brně. Spisy Masarykovy univerzity v Brně, 347. ISBN 80-210-3290-1. 2003. info
  • MASSIE, Allan. The novel today : a critical guide to the British novel, 1970-1989. London: Longman. vi, 97. ISBN 0582004071. 1990. info
  • STŘÍBRNÝ, Zdeněk. Dějiny anglické literatury. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia. s. 421-837. 1987. info
  • The Norton anthology of English literature. Edited by M. H. Abrams. 5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton. xlvi, 2578. ISBN 0393954722. 1986. info
  • The novel today :contemporary writers on modern fiction. Edited by Malcolm Bradbury. Manchester: Manchester University Press. 256 s. ISBN 0-7190-0677-5. 1977. info
  • SELDEN, Raman. A reader's guide to contemporary literary theory [27818]. Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. ISBN 0-7450-0602-7. 1989. info
  • WELLEK, René and Austin WARREN. Theory of literature. 3rd ed. London: Penguin Books. 374 s. ISBN 0-14-055028-3. 1963. info
  • EAGLETON, Terry. Literary theory :an introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. viii, 244. ISBN 0-631-13259-7. 1983. info
Assessment methods
course participation, contributions to discussion, end-of-term oral examination
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=52
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2001, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
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