AJ14061 Aspects of the Twentieth Century British Short Story

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Thu 18:20–19:55 G31
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination
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 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will look at a selection of short stories by writers from the British Isles, focusing mainly on writers from the earlier part of the twentieth century and contemporary authors. The aim will be to explore and compare the formal elements of the stories and relate them to the experiential areas with which they engage. This will involve a brief exposure to elements of narrative theory.By the end of the course the student will have written an essay in which they demonstrate their ability to analyze aspects of the short fiction discussed in terms of relating form to content in the ways covered in the course.During the course students will be expected to discuss ways in which formal elements of the stories discussed deviate from traditional norms and the way in which these formal innovations impinge upon the authors' concern with their subject matter.Students will also be expected to gain the skill of going beyond discussing characters as if they were simply depictions of people and the notion of writers depicting a ready-made world by attempting to think of the way in which an author's narrative organizes events and the precise role which character functions play in a given story.
Syllabus
  • Week 1: Sept 24th: ORIENTATION WEEK: NO SEMINAR Week 2: Oct 1st: Introductory: narrative theory Week 3: Oct.8th: Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince Lord Arthur Savile's Crime / Thomas Hardy: An imaginative Woman Week 4: Oct.15th: Henry James: The Aspern Papers Week 5: Oct.22nd: DHLawrence: The Captain's Doll / Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party Week 6: Oct.29th: James Joyce: Arabs, Eveline, A Painful Case / Samuel Beckett: Dante and the Lobster Week 7: Nov.5th: Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber, A Souvenir of Japan, Flesh and the Mirror Week 8: Nov.12th: Pat Barker: Kelly Brown; Week 9: Nov.19th: READING WEEK: NO Lesson Week 10: Nov.26th: John Berger: Pig Earth - Intro., A Question of Place, The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol Week 11: Dec 3rd: Emyr Humphries: Mel's Secret Love Mackay Brown: The Architect. Week 12: Dec.10th: Martin Amis: Let me Count the Ways, Hanif Kureishi: Intimacy, Ian McEwan: On Chesil Beach Week 13: Dec.17th: Bernard Mac Laverty: Taking the Dog For A Walk etc William Trevor: The Ballroom of Romance & others (choose)
Literature
  • Kelman J, Owens A, Gray, A Lean Tales London Vintage 1995
  • Kureishi, Hanif Love In A Blue Time London Faber and Faber 1997
  • Joyce, James Dubliners London Penguin 1992
  • Hardy, Thomas Life's Little Ironies Oxford Oxford University Press 1996
  • Beckett, Samuel More Pricks Than Kicks London John Calder 1993
  • McEwan, Ian In Between The Sheets London Picador 1979
  • Wilde, Oscar Complete Short Fiction London Penguin 1994
  • Kelman, James No, Not While The Giro London Minerva 1989
  • Carter, Angela Fireworks London Virago 1988
  • M.Bradbury (ed.) The Penguin Book of Modern Short Stories London Penguin 1988
  • McEwan, Ian First Love, Last Rites London Picador 1976
  • Carter, Angela The Bloody Chamber London Penguin 1981
  • Lawrence, D.H. Selected Short Stories London Penguin 1982
  • Barker, Pat Union Street London Virago 1982
Teaching methods
Teaching by close reading, and ninety minute weekly seminar discussion including group or pairwork.
Assessment methods
Credit requirements: Class contribution (40%), essay (5-8 pages) (60%).
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=719
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2009, recent)
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