AJ24049 Samuel Beckett in Context

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2018
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)
James Joseph Little, M.Phil., Ph.D. (lecturer)
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
Wed 14:00–15:40 G25
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 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 18 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course will analyse Samuel Beckett’s work as a poet, critic, prose writer and dramatist for stage, screen and radio, addressing some of the central debates in Beckett criticism. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with major texts in Beckett’s canon as well as key theoretical, philosophical and methodological debates surrounding the study of his work. We will also examine some of Beckett’s compositional manuscripts and discuss the impact that the publication of such material is having on Beckett studies.
Syllabus
  • Week 1 Beckett the poet: ‘The Vulture’; ‘Gnome’; ‘Cascando’; ‘what would I do without this world’; ‘something there’; ‘what is the word’ (please read these short texts before our first class; all in Selected Poems, 1930–1988)
    Week 2 Beckett the novelist: Murphy
    Week 3 Beckett ‘undoing’: Watt
    Week 4 Learning to ‘say I’: Molloy
    Week 5 Learning to say ‘not I’: The Unnamable
    Week 6 Beckett in space (1): Waiting for Godot
    Week 7 Beckett’s media: All That Fall; Quad
    Week 8 Beckett in space (2): Endgame
    Week 9 Beckett’s bodies: Not I*; That Time; Footfalls
    Week 10 Beckett’s imaginations: Imagination Dead Imagine; The Lost Ones; Company
    Week 11 Historicising Beckett: Catastrophe; What Where
    *Please watch the BBC version of Not I (first broadcast 1976), available on YouTube.

    NOTE: There will be no class on 10 October. This class has been rescheduled for Wednesday 14 November (during Reading Week) at the same time (14:00–15:40) in the same classroom (G 25).
Assessment methods
Students will be assessed on an end-of-term essay of 2,500 words, written according to MLA style. Active participation in class discussion and the giving of a presentation is required in order to receive a credit for the course. Discussion questions will be sent out prior to class. Aside from week 1, each class will feature a short presentation (10–15 minutes) by members of the class.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://www.phil.muni.cz/plonedata/wkaa/Dokumenty/ostatni/Samuel%20Beckett%20in%20Context.docx
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2018, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2018/AJ24049