FF:AJ18089 Margaret Atwood - Course Information
AJ18089 Margaret Atwood: Transgressing Genre
Faculty of ArtsSpring 2019
- Extent and Intensity
- 0/20/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
- Teacher(s)
- Katarína Labudová, PhD. (lecturer), Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (deputy)
Mgr. Denisa Krásná, BA (Hons), Ph.D. (assistant) - 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 - Prerequisites (in Czech)
- AJ01002 Practical English 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 14 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/14, only registered: 0/14, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/14 - fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
- there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
- Course objectives
- “What is genre? What is gender? These seem to remain open questions,” Margaret Atwood said in a 2014 talk on Genre and Gender at Penn University. This course offers to examine Margaret Atwood’s use of genre and gender. Special emphasis will be given to her major novels, beginning with autobiographical elements in Cat’s Eye, historiographic metafiction (Alias Grace, Blind Assassin, The Robber Bride) and ending with fairy tale echoes in her novels and short stories. The seminar will scrutinize the dystopian/utopian and speculative fiction/science fiction dilemmas negotiated in Atwood’s fiction and non-fiction (Maddaddam trilogy, The Handmaid’s Tale). We will discuss the literary usefulness (or lack of it) of genre and form labels, Atwood’s use of intertextuality and genre hybridity.
- Syllabus
- Course Outline:
- 1. A Generic Approach to Margaret Atwood’s Fiction: Fictive Autobiographies, Gothic Romance (Edible Women, Lady Oracle, Cat’s Eye)
- 2. In Search of Canadian History: Margaret Atwood’s Historiographic Metafiction (The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin)
- 3. Speculations on Speculation: Margaret Atwood’s Speculative Fiction Novels (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Heart Goes Last)
- 4. Post-apocalyptic Paradice: Margaret Atwood’s Environmental Dystopias (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, Maddaddam)
- 5. Fairy tale Resonances: Fairy Tale Intertexts in Margaret Atwood’s Works (short stories and selected novels)
- Teaching methods
- mini-lectures, group and class discussions
- Assessment methods
- Assignements/Exam:
Close Reading Quiz 1, 2, 3 30%
Final Essay 70% - Language of instruction
- English
- Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
- Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
Note related to how often the course is taught: February 18-22, 2019, G316. - Teacher's information
- Study Materials:
Bouson, J. Brooks (ed): Margaret Atwood: Critical Insights. Ipswitch: Salem Press, 2013
Bouson, J. Brooks (ed): Margaret Atwood: The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, Oryx and Crake. London and New York: Continuum, 2010.
Nischik, Reingard (ed): Margaret Atwood: Works and Impact. Camden House: 2000.
Wilson, Sharon Rose (ed.): Margaret Atwood’s Textual Assassinations. Columbus: The Ohio State University, 2003.
Margaret Atwood: In Other Worlds: SF and Human Imagination. London: Virago Press, 2011.
- Enrolment Statistics (recent)
- Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2019/AJ18089