AJ4301 Contemporary British literature and society

Faculty of Education
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, 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
AJ4301/01: Mon 18:00–19:50 učebna 57, L. Podroužková
AJ4301/02: Tue 13:00–14:50 respirium (5. nadzemní podlaží), L. Podroužková
Prerequisites
B2/C1 level of English and advanced reading skills
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 acquaints students with significant trends, authors and works in the British literature since the WWII via a range of issues debated in the present, and against the back drop of social, political and cultural events in Britain today. The core aspect of the course perspective is the issue of identity, be it regional, national, transnational, gender, ethnic or multiethnic. The course looks at contemporary British fiction, poetry and drama. The goal of the course is to: - acquaint students with the literature, culture and current social issues of contemporary Britain; - help student be able to identify cultural values and norms and interpret their meaning in the process of fostering tolerance - help students be able to reflect the issues debated in the context of their own experience; - discuss the role of environment, gender, race and ethnicity in the formation of attitudes and their projection in contemporary literature; - foster autonomous learning via independent reading, analysis and interpretation; - cultivate the art of dialogie and argumentation; - enhance presentation skills of the students
Learning outcomes
Očekávané výstupy: Student/ka: • kriticky analyzuje a interpretuje současné literární texty v angličtině v rovině literární i v širším společenském kontextu; • je schopen/schopna reflektovat témata, která se v literárních textech promítají, v kontextu vlastní společnosti a životní reality; • v průběhu semestru napíše několik krátkých písemných prací, ve kterých reaguje na zadanou seminární četbu a interpretuje ji v současném společenském a kulturním kontextu; • v průběhu semestru samostatně přečte jeden současný britský román (příp. dvě divadelní hry), z něhož si zvolí téma a vytvoří argument, který prezentuje na konci semestru písemně i v krátkém ústním projevu; • dokáže přemýšlet a diskutovat o různých společenských tématech, včetně některých kontroverzních či tabuizovaných otázek, a zároveň respektovat odlišné názory a postoje; • chápe literaturu jako zdroj celoživotního vzdělávání i jako inspiraci pro svou profesní kariéru.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to contemporary Britain: British national identity revised in the post-war and post-Brexit context. 2. "A cuppa?" Tradition and sterepotypes in contemporary Britain (Goerge Orwell, Jeremy Paxman, David Lodge and Bill Bryson). 3. Reconstructing Britain after the WWII and the assertion of the young: The Welfare state and Angry Young Men (John Osborne, Kingsley Amis). 4. The 1960s: Swinging London and the Cultural Revolution. Postmodernism in art and literature (John Fowles). 5. Other voices: postmodernism and deconstructing the narrative (Tom Stoppard, Ali Smith). 6. History versus herstory: feminism and contemporary women wrtiers (Angela Carter, Wendy Cope). 7. East and West: postcolonial period and British ethnic writing (Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Kazuo Ishiguro). 8. Mis/communication in the world of telecommunication and mobile systems (Stevie Smith, Roger McGough, Patrick Marber). 9. Devolution and the boom of regional literatures (Liz Lochhead, Tom Leonard, Jackie Kay). 10. Multiculturalism and urban living (Martin Amis, Benjamin Zephaniah). 11. Student presentations. 12. Student presentations.
Literature
  • 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
  • The contemporary British novel. Edited by James Acheson - Sarah C. E. Ross. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005, iv, 250 p. ISBN 0748618953. 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 0563201975. 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
independent and shared reading; textual analysis and interpretation; seminar discussions and activities
Assessment methods
Intensive and extensive reading. Textual analysis and interpretation. Pair, group and class discussions on the assigned readings. Presentation practice.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2468
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2019, autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2018, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/autumn2018/AJ4301