AJ14002 Eighteenth-Century British Literature

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
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)
Mgr. Dita Hochmanová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, 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
Timetable
Wed 14:00–15:40 L21
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ01002 Practical English II && AJ04003 Intro. to Literary Studies II
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 12 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/12, only registered: 0/12, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/12
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course examines the major eighteenth-century social and literary changes reflected in prose, drama and poetry. Mainly, we will consider the novel’s unique ability to represent the changing social conditions and attitudes of the period, particularly in relation to class identity and gender roles. What were the new techniques of psychological realism associated with the novel? In what sense does the eighteenth-century novel—from Defoe’s genre-founding work, Robinson Crusoe—retell the same tale: that of the resourceful middle-class individualist faced with the challenges of surviving in a world of recognizably modern economic forces? Did the novel represent the increasing rationalism or the increasing sentimentality of the age? Ian Watt’s classic study, The Rise of the Novel, will provide insight into the many epistemological and social crises of the era. Our authors include Defoe, Swift, Burney, Pope, Montagu, Fielding, and Walpole. At the end of the course the students should be able to understand the major developments of British literary history during the 18th century.
Syllabus
  • 1 Introduction: The Novel’s Influences/Rival Traditions/The New Reading Public; Alexander Pope and the Scriblerus Club; Samuel Johnson and criticism; The Rise of Journalism: The Tatler (1709-11) and The Spectator (1711-12); 2 Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, 1719; 3 Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, 1719; 4 Beggars Opera, 1728; 5 Alexander Pope, Essay on Man 1732-34 part 1 and Swift – Modest Proposal 1729 6 Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749; 7 Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749; 8 Lady Mary Montague, Embassy Letters, 1963; 9 Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole 1764; 10 Evelina, Fanny Burney, 1778 11 Evelina, Fanny Burney, 1778 12 Graveyard Poets (selection of poems)
Literature
  • Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, 978-1613821275
  • Major Works, Samuel Johnson, 978-0199538331
  • WATT, Ian P. The rise of the novel : studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding. 1st American ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1957, 319 s. info
Teaching methods
Seminars
Assessment methods
Assessment: Attendance and class participation 20%, 3 Response paper 20%, final essay 60%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2000, Autumn 2001, Spring 2002, Autumn 2002, Spring 2003, Autumn 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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