PdF:AJ9302 Contemporary American Literatu - Course Information

AJ9302 Contemporary American Literature and Society

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).

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

Timetable of Seminar Groups

AJ9302/KombiPred01: Fri 1. 3. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Fri 15. 3. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Fri 5. 4. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Fri 19. 4. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Fri 3. 5. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Fri 17. 5. 16:00–16:50 učebna 58, Z. Janík
AJ9302/KombiPred02: Fri 1. 3. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Fri 15. 3. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Fri 5. 4. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Fri 19. 4. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Fri 3. 5. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Fri 17. 5. 14:00–14:50 učebna 57, Z. Janík
AJ9302/KombiSem01: Fri 1. 3. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 15. 3. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 5. 4. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 19. 4. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 3. 5. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, Fri 17. 5. 14:00–15:50 učebna 58, D. Hochmanová
AJ9302/KombiSem02: Fri 1. 3. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, Fri 15. 3. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, Fri 5. 4. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, Fri 19. 4. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, Fri 3. 5. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, Fri 17. 5. 12:00–13:50 učebna 57, D. Hochmanová
AJ9302/PrezPred01: Tue 8:00–8:50 učebna 38, Z. Janík
AJ9302/PrezSem01: Thu 14:00–15:50 učebna 11, D. Hochmanová

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) Response papers (1 for each seminar), focusing on one text from the assigned reading
2) final credit test
3) in-class presentation of an argument (based on the novel you read)

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.

• Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  
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