AJ25038 Thoreau and Successors

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Randall Roorda (lecturer), Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Prajznerová, M.A., Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Tue 11:40–13:15 G22
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 10 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/10, only registered: 0/10, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/10
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 13 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Thoreau and Successors This course has a general purpose: to take up the case of a major American author, Henry D. Thoreau, both in its particular resonance and as an object lesson in influence, imitation, and relations of literacy to life. This purpose peels off into three objectives: • to read a lot of this author’s work, dwelling on what we read and learning something of his life and times to help us come to terms with it; • to explore strands of succession to this author’s work, in texts by successors and in the culture at large; • to participate in what we read and explore, taking it on the road, testing and enacting our own condition as potential successors to Thoreau. The course will be loosely organized by these objectives, with opening weeks devoted to getting versed in Thoreau, subsequent weeks focused on strands of succession, and closing weeks culminating in projects that enact succession. If as the critic Lawrence Buell observes, Thoreau’s figure and influence constitute a primary instance of “environmental sainthood,” we can think of this course as a case study in literary hagiography, concerning the life of the saint, the ways that life gets imitated, and the ends toward which his example is evoked.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
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