NJI_31A Literature I

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jan Budňák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Zdeněk Mareček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. PhDr. Jiří Munzar, CSc. (lecturer)
Erkan Osmanović, MA (lecturer)
Mgr. Martina Trombiková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Aleš Urválek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Aleš Urválek, Ph.D.
Department of German, Scandinavian and Netherland Studies – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of German, Scandinavian and Netherland Studies – Faculty of Arts
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
The course aims to motivate participants to read shorter fictional texts in German and to discuss them with other participants.
In the course, short fictional texts (stories, novellas) from the 19th and 20th centuries that discuss similar themes are read. This theme - and the selection of texts - changes every semester, but it is always one of the "eternal" themes of literature, such as love, art, suicide, or the supernatural.
The current topic and the list of texts for reading and discussion will be published before the start of the semester.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students will be able to:
- read shorter literary texts with regard to the specific way of delivering the central themes contained therein (and not just the "story"),
- show - based on the discussed work of fiction - a specific view of a certain period on the topic in question,
- confront - in both discussion and writing - different approaches to one of the "eternal" topics in several texts.
Syllabus
  • Every semester, short fiction (short stories, novellas) will be read (at home) and discussed (in lessons). Within one semester, selected texts have a central topic or question in common common: one of the "eternal" themes and schemes such as love, murder, death, madness, justice, faith, utopia, gender, nature, intoxication, unconsciousness, rivalry, crime, etc.
  • Each course works on a different subject, so it is possible to sign up for the course several times. The subject-matter and the reading list will always be known with sufficient distance before the beginning of the semester.
  • If possible, the seminar will integrate a brief input from basic scholarly literature.
Literature
  • Motive der Weltliteratur : ein Lexikon dichtungsgeschichtlicher Längsschnitte. Edited by Elisabeth Frenzel. 5., überarbeitete und erg. Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner Verlag, 1999, 935 s. ISBN 3520301059. info
Teaching methods
reading fictional texts, discussion, group work, presentation, argumentation
Assessment methods
compulsory attendance, reading!, submitting responses on reading questions before the lesson starts, active participation in discussions, comparative essay analyzing a similar topic in two topic-related texts of fiction (one of them from the program of the course, the other one not)
Language of instruction
German
Further Comments
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/NJI_31A