PdF:AJ3301 Contemporary British Literatur - Course Information

AJ3301 Contemporary British Literature and Society

Extent and Intensity

0/3/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Dita Hochmanová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Jiří Šalamoun, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education

Timetable of Seminar Groups

AJ3301/Kombi01: Fri 17. 9. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 1. 10. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 15. 10. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 5. 11. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 19. 11. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 3. 12. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, D. Hochmanová, Z. Janík
AJ3301/Kombi02: Fri 24. 9. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 8. 10. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 22. 10. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 12. 11. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 26. 11. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, Fri 10. 12. 8:00–10:50 učebna 56, D. Hochmanová, Z. Janík
AJ3301/Prez01: Wed 22. 9. to Wed 15. 12. Wed 14:00–16:50 učebna 12, D. Hochmanová, Z. Janík

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

there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

This course examines the development of British literature since 1945 on the background of historical, social and cultural events. In the seminars we will explore major writers and literary movements of the period as well as recurrent themes and motifs in the assigned readings. At the end of the course students will be able to identify major figures of British literature of the 20th century, make their own connections between the assigned reading and also question and actively interpret them as well as create their own critical evaluation.

Teaching practice:
The literary part of the course is inspired by the theory and practice of dialogic teaching (as proposed by Robin Alexander). To that end, each class employs a different communicative activity which is used to: (i) introduce students to some possible ways of teaching literature, (ii) enable students to understand the discussed texts on a deeper level, (iii) foster the spirit of a learning community.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
1) identify and describe four major trends of postwar British literature and understand their relationship to British society and culture
2) understand and frame literary works as a form of social commentary which responds to specific social and cultural occurrences
3) develop your skills in analytical reading and proposal writing
4) research, prepare, and deliver a presentation which meets the requirements of the State Exam in literature.

Syllabus

• 1) Introduction to the course: organization, readings, final assignments.
• 2) The 1950s in context: William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (part 1).
• 3) From the Consumer Age to A Sense of Crisis: Lord of the Flies (part 2).
• 4) The 1960s and a Sense of Crisis: Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (part 1).
• 5) Wide Sargasso Sea (part 2).
• 6) The 1960s: The 'Swinging Sixties,' the 'Psychedelic Sixties,' and the youth subcultures: Anthony Burgess’s Clockwork Orange.
• 7) Identity, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism in Great Britain: Salman Rushdie (The Prophet’s Hair + Hanif Kureishi (“My Son the Fanatic”).
• 8) Women of the UK of 1960s: Angel Carter, The Bloody Chamber.
• 9) Regionalism; V for Vendetta.
• 10) The 1990s: Kazuo Ishiguro ("Village after Dark”) + Ian McEwan (Enduring Love, chapter one).
• 11) 21st Century Britain.
• 12) Conclusion of the course.
• 13) Student presentations.
• Since the combined version of this course only has six contact sessions available, half of the readings will be discussed in our Moodle course.

Literature

• british poetry
• DUGGAN, Robert. The grotesque in contemporary British fiction. First published. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013, 276 stran. ISBN 9780719078910. info
• Ethics and trauma in contemporary British fiction. Edited by Susana Onega Jaâen - Jean-Michel Ganteau. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2011, 330 p. ISBN 9789401200080. info
• LANE, David. Contemporary British drama. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010, vii, 218. ISBN 9780748638222. info
• The careless statewealth and welfare in Britain today. Edited by Paul Taylor. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010, ix, 230 p. ISBN 9781849663557. info
• Contemporary British fiction. Edited by Nick Bentley. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008, xiv, 245 p. ISBN 9780748624201. info
• BRADFORD, Richard. The novel now : contemporary British fiction. 1st pub. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2007, vii, 259. ISBN 9781405113861. info
• A concise companion to contemporary British fiction. Edited by James F. English. Malden: Blackwell, 2006, xi, 281. ISBN 9781405120012. info
• Dark humor and social satire in the modern British novel. Edited by Lisa Colletta. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, 154 p. ISBN 1403963657. info
• BRADBURY, Malcolm. The modern British novel. London: Penguin Books, 1994, xvi, 515. ISBN 014023098X. info
• MUSMAN, Richard and D'Arcy ADRIAN-VALLANCE. Britain today. 4. vyd. Harlow: Longman, 1989, iii, 156. ISBN 0582749301. info
• Political issues in Britain today. Edited by Bill Jones. 3rd ed. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989, vii, 337 p. ISBN 0-7190-3019-6. info
• Women in Britain today. Edited by Veronica Beechey - Elizabeth Whitelegg. Milton Keynes, England: Open University Press, 1986, vi, 216 p. ISBN 0-335-15137-X. info
• BOWKER, John. Worlds of faith :religious belief and practice in Britain today. 1st publ. London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1983, 312 s. ISBN 0-563-20197-5. info
• MORRIS, Robert K. Continuance and change : the contemporary British novel sequence. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972, xx, 164. ISBN 0809305445. info

Teaching methods

Discussion, small group work, lecture, in class writing exercises.

Assessment methods

Literature part:
Participation in collaborative learning and discussion based activities (40%)
Final presentation (60%).

Culture and social part:
A final quiz.

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.

Teacher's information

http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2468

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2021, recent)
  
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