AJL04001 Introduction to Literary Studies I (seminar)

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
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)
SOUHLAS
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 175 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 2/175, only registered: 6/175
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Popis kurzu: Tento kurz sestává ze seminářů (navazujících na přednášky v kurzu AJ04000), které studentům představují literární výzkum a analyzu. Zatímco přednášky kurzu AJ04000 studentům poskytují úvod do literární historie, literárních hnutí, kontextů a přístupů k literárním textům, semináře poskytují praktičtější vhled do analýzy literárních textů a psaní kritických esejí. Semináře jsou založeny na skupinové práci a společné diskuzi.
Cíle kurzu: 1. Naučit studenty metodám literárního výzkumu a práce s primárními a sekundárními zdroji. 2. Studenti získají techniky potřebné pro literární analýzu a psaní akademických esejí. 3. Studenti si tříbí kritické myšlení a získávají hlubší vhled do toho, jak nás literatura ovlivňuje a jak obohacuje naše vnímání světa.
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. Introduction to the Study of Literature, Doc. Michael M. Kaylor; reading literature and writing about literature; primary and secondary sources; working with library sources (catalogue, databases); evaluating sources Barnet: Chapter 1 (“The Writer as Reader”) and 2 (“The Reader as Writer”); getting to know MLA (basic format of a paper: header, title, layout, …)
  • 2. Elizabethan Drama, Dr. Filip Krajník William Shakespeare, Hamlet text analysis; critical vocabulary (character(s), plot); using the literary present; Barnet: Chapter 11 (“Writing about Drama”); Maynard Mack, “The World of Hamlet” (1952); MLA (section 3.6. Titles)
  • 3. Romantic Poetry, Doc. Michael M. Kaylor; John Keats, “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”, “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles for the First Time”, “Ode to Psyche”, “To Autumn”; READING WEEK (Oct 28 and 30): no class; text analysis; critical vocabulary (figures of speech, rhythm and rhyme); Barnet: Chapter 12 (“Writing about Poetry”); MLA (section 3.7. Quotations); Assignment 1: a short (2 double-spaced pages) written analysis of one of Keats’ poems, submit in ELF, deadline Nov 1
  • 4. Gothic Novel, Doc. Michael M. Kaylor; Mary Shelley, Frankenstein text analysis; critical vocabulary (points of view); quoting X paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism; feedback to Assignment 1; Barnet: Chapter 10 (“Writing about Fiction”)
  • 5. Victorian Novel, Dr. Stephen Hardy; Charles Dickens, Hard Times; text analysis; critical vocabulary (setting); developing an argument; Barnet: Chapter 8 (“Writing about Literature”)
  • 6. American Renaissance, Dr. Jeffrey A. Smith; selections from: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson text analysis; critical vocabulary (overview of narrative categories, historical context); close reading; MLA (sections 5.4, 5.5, 5.6-5.6.5, 5.7-5.7.5., all Documentation of Work Cited); Assignment 2: a 3-4 page analysis of one of the assigned texts; integrate quotation(s) from at least two secondary sources as well as their bibliographical details; MLA format; submit in ELF.
Literature
    required literature
  • Barnet, Sylvan, et al. A short Guide to Writing About Literature
  • MLA Handbook. Eighth edition. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2016, xiv, 146. ISBN 9781603292627. info
  • DICKENS, Charles. Hard times. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1994, vi, 268 s. ISBN 0-14-062044-3. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Hamlet. Edited by Alistair McCallum. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, 42 s. ISBN 0194232204. info
  • SHELLEY, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Edited by Elisabeth Scott. Milano: La Spiga languages, 2006, 30 s. ISBN 8871002903. info
Teaching methods
90-minute seminar once in two weeks; group and class discussion; text analysis, writing short assignments.
Assessment methods
Assessment: Students must prepare for all classes, especially for the seminars. The assigned texts must be read before the class so that students can engage actively in discussions and other continuous assessment. Written assignments must be submitted in the correct format and on time. 5 credits are given for the exam at the end of the seminar series. Final mark: class performance 30%; Ass 1 30%; Ass 2 40%. Points out of 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
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every other week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
http://www.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/category.php?id=4
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
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