AJ_ERKA The American Multicultural Experiment: Literature and Culture of Ethnic and Regional America

Faculty of Education
Spring 2017
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Michael George, M.A. (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
AJ_ERKA/01: Thu 13:00–14:40 učebna 51, M. George, J. Šalamoun
Prerequisites
none
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This is a "round table" seminar which looks at The United States of America not as one land, but as a collection of very different cultures. Regional differences such as North-South and East-West are analyzed through engagement with their history and literature. The course also examines the ethnic differences of groups such as African Americans, Mexican Americans and Native Americans. The resulting different speech patterns of each region and group are also noted.
The aim of the course is for the students to analyze what it means for a land to be so culturally diverse and still one nation. By doing so, the students develop a deeper understanding of the United States and can evaluate the relative merits of multiculturalism. At the end of the course students should be able to distinguish and differentiate the various voices coming from America according to region and ethnicity. In their ability to compare they will be able to examine and evaluate American current events and literature on a deeper level than before.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction.
  • 2. The “other” United States – the South
  • 3. African Americans
  • 4. The individual and the West
  • 5. Race and culture in the West – Native Americans
  • 6. Race and culture in the West - Mexican Americans
  • 7. Ethnicity and language – Spanish and Ebonics
  • 8. Asian Americans
  • 9. Multiculturalism and cultural linguistics
  • 10. “Crash” and “Twilight in LA”
  • 11 - 12. Student research presentations
  • 13. Conclusion
Literature
    required literature
  • McMurtry, Larry: Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen; Simon & Schuster, 1999.Sitkoff, Harvard: The Struggle for Black Equality; New York, 1993.Gray, Herman: Watching Race; U of Minnesota Press, 1995
  • SITKOFF, Harvard. The struggle for black equality :1954-1992. 19th print. New York: Hill and Wang, 1994, ix, 258 s. ISBN 0-374-52356-8. info
Teaching methods
This is a "round table" seminar where each student comes to the weekly class having read the assigned texts and shares their opinions during the discussion. Discussions are sometimes supplemented with relevant documentary videos. In addition, each student selects a topic, author or piece of literature from ethnic and/or regional America and through their own research becomes the “expert” on that subject within the class. From the third class on, we will turn to you for additional information whenever our class discussion touches on your chosen subject. Thus everyone in the class can benefit from each student’s research. In addition, there will be time set aside for short 15 minute presentations at the end of the semester.
Assessment methods
80% attendance, preparation of weekly text readings and full voluntary participation in class meeting seminar discussions, 20% research on an approved topic (as described above).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
General note: Předmět bude realizován pokud se přihlásí alespoň 10 studentů.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 2 hodiny.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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