AJL17053 Genre Studies: American Science-Fiction Film

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Abigail Mokra, M.A. et M.A. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, 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 8:00–9:40 G25, except Wed 15. 11.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJL01002 Practical English II && AJL07002 Intro. to American Studies II
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: 8/20, 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
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to study critically one area of cultural production in the United States, following its transformation in its interplay with the development of the society. The participants will be asked to define dominant themes of the genre and focus on its typical roles and character types in any given period. The participants will get acquainted, among other things, with notable genre classics such as Langs Metropolis, Kubricks 2001, A Space Odyssey, and Ridley Scotts Blade Runner. The courses reading consists of a collection of essays and book extracts relating to the analyzed films.
Learning outcomes
The successful students will: - gain a thorough understanding of one particular area of cultural production in the USA, the science-fiction film gernre; - understand the interconnectedness of the films and the issues they accentuate with their respective cultural contexts; - acquire basic skills of film analysis; - be able to produce an academic paper on the topic; - be able to assess the application of a variety of approaches, folkloristic, archetypal, psychoanalytical, phenomenological, on the science fiction genre.
Syllabus
  • Seminář 1: Úvod
  • Seminář 2: Metropolis
  • Seminář 3: Frankenstein, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
  • Seminář 4: The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing from another World
  • Seminář 5: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet
  • Seminář 6: 2001 A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove
  • Seminář 7: A Clockwork Orange,Planet of the Apes
  • Seminář 8: Star Wars and E.T. Star Wars, E.T.
  • Seminář 9: Alien, Terminator
  • Seminář 10: Repo Man, Brother from Another Planet
  • Seminář 11: Blade Runner
  • Seminář 12: Matrix and eXistenZ
  • Seminář 13: The Arrival and Avatar
Literature
  • Science fiction film. Edited by J. P. Telotte. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xiii, 254. ISBN 0521596475. info
  • BISKIND, Peter. Seeing is believing : how Hollywood taught us to stop worrying and love the fifties. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2000, xi, 371. ISBN 0805065636. info
  • TELOTTE, J. P. A distant technology : science fiction film and the machine age. Hanover: Wesleyan University, 1999, viii, 218. ISBN 0819563463. info
  • Alien zone II : the spaces of science-fiction cinema. Edited by Annette Kuhn. 1st pub. London: Verso, 1999, 308 s. ISBN 1859842593. info
  • SOBCHACK, Vivian Carol. Screening space : the American science fiction film. 2nd, enl. ed. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997, 345 s. ISBN 081352492X. info
Teaching methods
This course lasts one term, and ends with an essay. There will be one seminar and per week. The seminar consists of student presentations, discusion of the films and assigned reading, and analysis of their cinematic features. Students missing more than two seminars per semester automatically fail the course. Please come to the seminars having read the assigned reading and having viewed the films. The standard of your preparation will be occasionally tested by means of short in-class quizzes. You may be also be asked to write brief responses to the reading and submit them in ELF prior to the lesson. Please note that this schedule is subject to change dependent on the specific needs of the group.
Assessment methods
Assessment: a written exam, an in-class presentation, three in-class quizzes, and active participation.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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