AJL04003 Introduction to Literary Studies II

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Mariia Kokh (lecturer)
Mgr. Kristína Melišová (lecturer)
Mgr. Veronika Vargová, BA (lecturer)
Mgr. Karolína Zlámalová (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJL04001 Intro. to Literary Studies I && NOW( AJL04002 Literary Studies II Lecture )
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 13 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course consists seminars (related to lectures in AJ04002) that encourage students to engage in literary research and analysis. While the lectures in AJ04002 provide students with an introduction to literary histories, movements, contexts and approaches to literary texts, the seminars function as more practical insights into analyzing literary texts and writing critical research papers about them. They are based on discussions and group work.
Course objectives: 1. To learn the methods of conducting library research and working with primary and secondary sources. 2. To acquire the techniques needed for literary analysis and writing academic essays. 3. To refine critical thinking about literature and achieve a deeper understanding of how literature affects us and how it enriches our perception of the world.
Learning outcomes
After attending this course, students will be able to:
- write an essay in the English language
- conduct independent research and employ foreign literature
Syllabus
  • 1. Modern Irish Drama: Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
  • text analysis: features of modern drama;
  • academic writing: paragraph development, transitions between paragraphs; writing a response paper/RP samples;
  • readings: Ch 2 “Oscar Wilde—The Artist As Irishman” from Inventing Ireland by Declan Kiberd, pp. 33-50 (ELF);
  • 2. British Modernism: Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
  • text analysis: features of modernist fiction;
  • academic writing: citing vs. paraphrasing; introducing a citation/paraphrase; commenting on the citation/paraphrase
  • readings: Ch 1 “Civilization and ‘My Civilisation’: Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Avant-Garde” from Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Avant-Garde by Christine Froula, pp.1-34 (Central Library-> ebrary)
  • ASSIGNMENT: Response paper 1 on Wilde or Woolf (upload 2 pages as Echo-assignment to ELF)
  • 3. American Modernism: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
  • text analysis: features of American modernism;
  • feedback to RPs 1;
  • academic writing: when to use secondary sources, avoiding plagiarism;
  • readings: Ch 8 “Pastoral Mode and Language in The Great Gatsby” by Janet Giltrow and David Stouck from F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Twenty-First Century ed. by Bryer et al., pp. 139-152. (Central Library->ebrary)
  • 4. Post-war Drama: Harld Pinter, The Birthday Party
  • text analysis: features of post-war drama;
  • academic writing: the mechanics of writing (e.g. strong verbs, the passive, punctuation)
  • readings: Martin Esslin, “The Significance of the Absurd”, The Theatre of the Absurd, Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1961, pp. 399-429. (ELF)
  • ASSIGNMENT: Response paper 2 on Fitzgerald or Pinter
  • 5. Canadian Postmodernism: Margaret Atwood, Surfacing
  • text analysis: postmodern narrative strategies;
  • feedback to RP 2;
  • academic writing: literary present vs. past simple
  • readings: Linda Hutcheon, “Process, Product, and Politics: The Postmodernism of Margaret Atwood”, The Canadian Postmodern, pp. 138-159 (ELF)
  • 6. Australian Postcolonial Novel: David Malouf, Remembering Babylon
  • text analysis: features of postcolonial fiction;
  • academic writing: preparing a final research paper
  • readings: Ch 2 “Unsettling the Settler Postcolony: Uncanny Pre-Occupations in David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon“, from Imagining Justice by Julie McGonegal (ebrary)
  • ASSIGNMENT: Response paper 3 on Atwood or Malouf
Literature
  • WILDE, Oscar. The importance of being earnest. [S.l.: s.n., 276 s. info
  • Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury avant-gardewar, civilization, modernity. Edited by Christine Froula. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005, xvii, 428. ISBN 0231134444. info
  • ATWOOD, Margaret Eleanor. Surfacing. Trade pbk. ed. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999, 205 s. ISBN 0-7710-0860-0. info
  • KIBERD, Declan. Inventing Ireland : the literature of the modern nation. London: Vintage, 1996, xvi, 719. ISBN 009958221X. info
  • MALOUF, David. Remembering Babylon. London: Vintage, 1994, 182 s. ISBN 009930242X. info
  • WOOLF, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Edited by Elaine Showalter - Stella McNichol. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1992, liv, 231 s. ISBN 0-14-018569-0. info
  • ESSLIN, Martin. The theatre of the absurd. 3rd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1980, 480 s. ISBN 0-14-013728-9. info
  • PINTER, Harold. The birthday party ; and, The room : two plays. Rev. ed. New York: Grove Press, 1968, 116 s. info
  • FITZGERALD, Francis Scott. The great Gatsby. London: Penguin Books, 1950, 171 s. ISBN 0-14-000746-6. info
Teaching methods
The seminars consist of group and class discussions of the given texts. Students write response papers, participate in discussions, learn the skills of academic writing.
Assessment methods
Students must attend and prepare for all classes. The assigned texts must be read before the seminars so that students can engage actively in discussions and other continuous assessment. Written assignments must be submitted in the correct format and on time. 1 credit (zápočet) is given at the end of the lecture series for attending the lectures, 5 credits for the exam at the end of the seminar series. Final mark: class performance 10%; 3x response papers 40%; final research paper 50%. Points out of 10/100; 60% pass/fail line. Evaluation scale: A 100-85; B 84-80; C-79-75; D-74-70; E 69-60; F (fail) 59-0.
Language of instruction
English
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
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