AJ2MK_SAML Seminar to American literature of the 20th century

Faculty of Education
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
0/0/1. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Irena Přibylová, 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
AJ2MK_SAML/OS01: Fri 23. 9. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 7. 10. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 21. 10. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 11. 11. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 25. 11. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 9. 12. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, I. Přibylová
AJ2MK_SAML/OS02: Fri 30. 9. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 14. 10. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 4. 11. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 18. 11. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 2. 12. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, Fri 16. 12. 9:20–11:00 učebna 59, I. Přibylová
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
This survey course examines American literature from the beginning of the twentieth century to present, covering two important literary movements, modernism and postmodernism. The course is designed to introduce students to the ideas and pleasures literature offers us, and encourages students to think about the texts and discuss them in the class. Students are also asked to keep a journal of their thoughts and responses to themes and ideas expressed in the texts.
At the end of this course, students should be able to describe at least two different varieties of literary modernism and discuss how black and white modernist experiments may have influenced each other; appreciate the diversity of modernist authors; see connections between the art and literature of the modern era; discuss several different schools of poetry; describe postmodernism, discuss its causes and origins, and discuss ways in which the twentieth-century fiction and poetry respond to the postmodern condition; explain how minority writers (women, ethnic, racial and sexual minorities) have used postmodern narrative techniques to define their identities
Syllabus
  • Areas to be discussed:
  • 1. Introduction to the course, requirements.American literature from the 1940s to the present.
  • 2. Discussing postmodernism and post-postmodernism.
  • 3. Re-reading history, History in postmodern literature.
  • 4. The 1950s in focus: The rise of postmodernism; the Beat Generation; ethnic literature.
  • 5. The 1960s in focus: The rise of New Journalism; the hippie generation; the American East; the Native American Renaissance.
  • 6. The 1970s in focus: The rise of feminism; ethnic literature.
  • 7. The 1980s in focus: The peak of postmodernism; ethnic literature.
  • 8.Region in postmodern literature
Literature
    required literature
  • VanSpanckere, Kathryn: Outline of American Literature, online version, rev. ed. 2006
    recommended literature
  • HILFER, Anthony Channell. American fiction since 1940. London: Longman, 1992, x, 290. ISBN 0582493501. info
  • A concise companion to postwar American literature and culture. Edited by Josephine G. Hendin. Malden: Blackwell, 2004, xii, 430. ISBN 1405121807. 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
Teaching methods
discussion-based seminars
group work
Assessment methods
1) Response papers focusing on selected texts from the assigned reading
2) oral presentation
3) regular attendance and participation in class discussion
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: 12 hodin.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/autumn2016/AJ2MK_SAML