AJ45011 American Literature (20th Century)

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jan Beneš, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Bc. Tereza Walsbergerová, 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
each odd Friday 15:00–16:40 G22
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
Course objectives
Emphasizing the interconnections between literature and history, this course traces the development of US literature in the twentieth century. Reading a variety of genres, we will examine works by authors from different geographical regions and ethnic backgrounds.
The aims of the course include: to prepare students to read critically, to analyze both primary and secondary texts orally as well as in writing, to conduct literary research, to write research papers.
Syllabus
  • Syllabus:
  • Session 1, Oct 11th: American Drama (Jan Beneš)
  • Readings: Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)
  • Assignment: response paper (submit in IS)
  • Session 2, Oct 25th: African American Novel (Jan Beneš)
  • Readings: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
  • Assignment: response paper
  • Session 3, Nov 8th: American Paranoid Fiction - Cold War Feminism (Tereza Walsbergerová)
  • Readings: Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives (1972)
  • Assignment: response paper
  • Session 4, Nov 22nd: American Paranoid Fiction (Tereza Walsbergerová)
  • Readings: Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985)
  • Assignment: response paper
  • Session 5, Dec 6th: Mexican American Literature (Jan Beneš)
  • Readings: Jennifer Clement, Prayers for the Stolen (2012)
  • Assignment: response paper
Literature
  • ALBEE, Edward. Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Orig.). info
  • HURSTON, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God : a novel. Edited by Mary Helen Washington. 1st Perennial library ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1990, xiv, 207. ISBN 0060916508. info
  • DELILLO, Don. White noise. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986, 326 s. ISBN 0140077022. info
Teaching methods
Class sessions will include mini-lectures, group and class discussions, writing short response papers and submitting a final research paper.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
General note: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2017.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2019/AJ45011