AJ9302 Contemporary American Literature and Society

Faculty of Education
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Dita Hochmanová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., 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
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 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course introduces students to major trends, authors and works of contemporary American literature by focusing on themes relevant for current times and provides connections to current political, cultural and social events. The students will learn to identify cultural values and interpret them with the purpose to enhance respect to otherness and develop intercultural communicative competence. They will engage in discussion, critical thinking and problem solving relating to the issues of gender, race, and ethnicity in history and in forming of literary genres and topics. 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 and enhance their creative thinking, (ii) enable students to understand the discussed texts on a deeper level and develop their critical thinking as well as problem-solving skills, (iii) enhance their intercultural awareness and communicative competence.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to
identify cultural values and interpret their significance
describe postmodernism, discuss its causes and origins
identify and analyze postmodern features in literary texts
explain how minority writers (women, ethnic, racial and sexual minorities) have used postmodern narrative techniques to define their identities
enhance their capacity of creative thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, build their intercultural awareness, and improve communicative competence
Syllabus
  • 1. Cultural, social and literary themes of contemporary USA
  • 2. Theories of poststructuralism as a tool to interpret contemporary culture
  • 3. Postmodern Identity (Thomas Pynchon, John Barth, Kurt Vonnegut)
  • 4. Revisiting History (E. L. Doctorow, Toni Morrison)
  • 5. New ideas, new genres (graphic novel, cyberpunk)
  • 6. Critique of literary canon and critique of poststructuralism (Adrienne Rich, Gloria Anzaldua, Barbara Christian)
  • 7. Identity and Race (Alice Walker, Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton)
  • 8. Identity and Ethnicity I (Sandra Cisneros, Amy Tan) 9. Identity and Ethnicity II (Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie)
  • 10. Identity and Gender (Ursula LeGuin, Adrienne Rich, Olga Broumas)
  • 11. Queer Identity (Leslie Feinberg, Olga Broumas)
  • 12. Transnational Identity (R. Jarrar, Iva Pekarkova)
Literature
    required literature
  • CAMPBELL, Neil and Alasdair KEAN. American cultural studies : an introduction to American culture. Fourth edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016, x, 371. ISBN 9781138833135. info
  • The Columbia history of the American novel. Edited by Emory Elliott - Cathy N. Davidson. New York: Columbia University, 1991, xviii, 905. ISBN 0-231-07360-7. info
    recommended literature
  • BARKER, Chris. Cultural studies : theory and practice. Edited by Paul E. Willis. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008, xxiv, 525. ISBN 9781412924160. info
  • The Heath anthology of American literature. Edited by Paul Lauter. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1990, xxxix, 261. ISBN 0-669-12065-0. info
  • Columbia literary history of the United States. Edited by Emory Elliott. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988, xxviii, 12. ISBN 0-231-05812-8. info
Teaching methods
discussion-based seminars
group work
Assessment methods
1) In-semester assignments focused on dialogic method
2) final credit test
3) presentation of an argument (based on the novel you read)
Náhradní absolvování
Students staying abroad (Erasmus+ programme) and students with IPS are not required to attend the classes, but they are obliged to submit all the required in-semester assignments, take the credit test and present their argument.
Language of instruction
English
Study support
https://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2707
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every other week.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.
Teacher's information
https://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2708
In the course, the use of AI is permitted for learning but not for cheating. It is acceptable to use AI for brainstorming ideas, basic proofreading, and suggestions for improvement. It is unacceptable to have a text generated, translated or reformulated. Remember to acknowledge all innovative ideas that are not yours. For generated ideas, use in-text citations. At the end of each assignment, state how you worked/did not work with AI. When in doubt, consult your teacher.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2025/AJ9302