ESB094 Chesterton and Tolkien as Arts Critics

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Petr Osolsobě, Ph.D.
Department of Aesthetics – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Rostislav Niederle, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Aesthetics – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Thursday 10:00–11:40 K21, except Thu 16. 11.
Prerequisites
Course is taught in Czech language, though advanced students are recommanded to read in original. Discussion, interpretation, and vital application unto the contemporary culture.
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 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 15/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to learn and to think about the standards of criticism in the works of Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936) was one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. Chesterton influenced authors like Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, Harold Bloom, Evelyn Waugh, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, Karel Čapek, Paul Claudel, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Sigrid Undset, Igmar Bergman, Kingsley Amis, W. H. Auden, Orson Welles, Franz Kafka, C.S. Lewis a J.R.R. Tolkien.
Learning outcomes
An acquired abitily to write, to interpret and to understand various styles of creative critique of art and society.
Syllabus
  • A close reading and analysis of the main critical attitudes as contained in Chesterton's collections of essays HERETICS and ORTHODOXY, and Tolkien's reflection ON FAIRIES (with a regard to the implicit aesthetics in his famous trilogy Lord of the Rings).
  • Th Role of Wonder in Reading and Culture
  • Spirit of Negation in Culture
  • Fairies and Story-telling as a Cultural Paradigm
  • Modernity and Tradition
  • Values of Truth and Beauty in Comparison
Literature
  • CHESTERTON, G. K. Autobiografie. Edited by Jan Lukavec, Translated by Jana Kuchtová. 2. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2007, 271 s. ISBN 9788073251277. info
  • Úžas, radost a paradoxy života v díle G. K. Chestertona. Translated by Alexander Tomský. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2007, 303 s. ISBN 9788071951919. info
  • TOLKIEN, J. R. R. Netvoři a kritikové a jiné eseje. Translated by Jan Čermák. Vyd. v tomto souboru 1. Praha: Argo, 2006, 266 s. ISBN 8072037889. info
  • CHESTERTON, G. K. Co je špatného na světě. Translated by Ladislav Vymětal. Praha: Votobia, 1997, 180 s. ISBN 8072200623. info
  • CHESTERTON, G. K. Ortodoxie. Brno: Nakladatelství Tomáše Janečka, 1993, 156 s. ISBN 80-900802-4-3. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, discussions,1 short essay.
Assessment methods
a colloquium on a chosen theme
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on completion of the course: Ukončení esejí s citacemi z autorů - Chestertona a/nebo Tolkiena.
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/ESB094