AJL14004 British Literature: 1890-1945

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Michael Matthew Kaylor, PhD. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Michael Matthew Kaylor, PhD.
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 of Seminar Groups
AJL14004/01: Thu 12:00–13:40 G23, T. Kačer, M. Kaylor
AJL14004/02: Wed 14:00–15:40 K32, T. Kačer, M. Kaylor
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( AJ01002 Practical English II || AJL01002 Practical English II ) && AJL04003 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 50 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 5/50, only registered: 0/50, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/50
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course will engage various texts and contexts of the Modernist movement, namely those of Henry James, D. H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, T. E. Lawrence, W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, Lady Gregory, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf, A. J. A. Symons, Fr. Rolfe, Eric Gill, and James Joyce. Special attention will be paid to how various literary and visual forms are employed for biographical, political, social, cultural, and religious ends. This period is unique for its aspirations as much as its accomplishments, for its experimental and avant-garde tendencies, for its conception of the writer as endeavouring to, in Forster’s phrasing, “only connect.” Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the writing of others with sensitivity and appreciation; have an understanding of the contexts of English Modernism; and be familiar with the key writers and their texts.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, a student will be able to:
- analyze a work of literature from the Modernist period;
- know distinctive features of Modernist writing and the culture fo British Modernism;
- distinguish representative writers of the British Modernism;
- discuss the role of historical events, scientific development and cultural changes in the Modernist period.
Syllabus
  • Lesson 1 (16 February) Introduction, course policies, assessment criteria Lesson 2 (23 February) — Dr. Kačer Read Henry James, “The Beast in the Jungle,” from The Better Sort (1903); and “The Figure in the Carpet,” from Embarrassments (1896) Lesson 3 (2 March) — Dr. Kačer Read D. H. Lawrence, “The Prussian Officer,” and “Odour of Chrysanthemums,” from The Prussian Officer and Other Stories (1914) Lesson 4 (9 March) — Mgr. Melišová Read E. M. Forster, A Room with a View (1908) Lesson 5 (16 March) — Dr. Kačer Read J. M. Synge, Playboy of the Western World (1907); and Lady Gregory, “The Fight over The Playboy” (1913) Lesson 6 (23 March) – Doc. Kaylor Read Siegfried Sassoon, “Counter-Attack” and “Suicide in the Trenches,” both from Counter-Attack and Other Poems (1918); Wilfred Owen, “Dulce et Decorum Est,” “Strange Meeting,” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” all from Poems (1920); T. E. Lawrence, passages from Seven Pillars of Wisdom (autobiography, 1926) Lesson 7 (30 March) – Doc. Kaylor Read W. B. Yeats, “The Adoration of the Magi” (essay, 1897); “The Magi,” from Responsibilities and Other Poems (1914); “The Second Coming,” from Michael Robartes and the Dancer (1921); and “Sailing to Byzantium,” from The Tower (1928) Lesson 8 (6 April) — Dr. Little Read James Joyce, “The Sisters,” and “The Dead” from Dubliners (1914) Lesson 9 (13 April) — Dr. Kačer Read Joseph Conrad, “Preface to ‘The Narcissus’” (1897); Virginia Woolf, “Modern Fiction” (1921); and Eric Gill, “Composition of Time and Space,” from Essay on Typography (1931) Lesson 10 (20 April) — No class — reading week Lesson 11 (27 April) — Doc. Kaylor Read Lytton Strachey, “Florence Nightingale,” from Eminent Victorians (1918); and Virginia Woolf, Flush: A Biography (1933) Lesson 12 (4 May) — Mgr. Mikeš Read A. J. A. Symons, The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography (1934) Lesson 13 (11 May) — Doc. Kaylor Read Frederick Rolfe, Hadrian the Seventh (1904)
Literature
  • The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th edn., vol. 2 (New York: Norton, 1993)
  • Keating, Peter. The Haunted Study: A Social History of the English Novel 1875-1914.
  • Leavis, Q. D. Fiction and the Reading Public. London: Chatto & Windus, 1932.
  • Miller, Jane Eldridge. Rebel Women: Feminism, Modernism and the Edwardian Novel. London: Virago, 1994.
  • Willison, Ian, Warwick Gould and Warren Chernaik, eds. Modernist Writers and the Marketplace. Basingstoke & London: Macmillan, 1996.
  • Hall, Lesley. A. Hidden Anxieties: Male Sexuality 1900-1950. Cambridge: Polity Press. 1991.
  • Batchelor, John. The Edwardian Novel. london: Dockworth, 1986.
  • Feldman, Jessica. Gender on the Divide: The Dandy in Modernist Literature. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989.
Teaching methods
One 2-hour seminar per week.
Assessment methods
All materials covered are provided in the ELF system as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. To augment and deepen our discussion of the English Modernists, students will be expected to write two in-class essays on the covered readings without prior announcement (2-3 handwritten or typed pages, 45 minutes). It should have a well-crafted thesis, should be scholarly in tone, and should endeavor to support all claims textually. There will be a 1-hour final exam. Final grades will be divided into the following proportions: 10% for attendance and class participation; 30% for each of the two in-class essays; 30% for the exam.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
https://elf.phil.muni.cz/21-22/course/view.php?id=799
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
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