PdF:AJ1304 American History, Culture and - Course Information

AJ1304 American History, Culture and Literature II

Extent and Intensity

0/3/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

Michael George, M.A. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Barbora Kašpárková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Barbora Kašpárková, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education

Prerequisites (in Czech)

AJ1102 Practical Language 1B || AJ2102 Practical Language 1B

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

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 is the second half of a survey course of American History and American Literature covering the period from late 19th century to late 20th century. Its aim is to explore the major as well as some of the lesser-known writers, literary movements, major historical events, trends and cultural concepts and make meaningful connections between them; and also to provide the historical, literary and cultural background necessary for those intending to be become English language teachers.
In teacher training programs, students must also develop a range of skills and competencies to be successful as teachers. Literary courses are instrumental in cultivating some of these skills, such as creative thinking, problem solving, critical thinking, intercultural awareness, and communicative competence.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students should be able
1) to identify and evaluate the main currents of U.S. cultural history and especially their causes and consequences in relation to modern American culture and society
2) to understand how myths about America’s foundation and iconic historical events have been formulated, debated and challenged by American writers
3) to discuss the role of gender, culture and race in shaping the forms and themes of literary texts

Syllabus

• Breaking the Tradition
• America on Wheels: The Roaring 20s
• Modernist poetry and fiction (W. C. Williams, e. e. cummings, Wallece Stevens, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway)
• African American Experience
• Life after Slavery: Reconstruction and Jim Crow
• Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston)
• Breaking Apart
• The Great Depression
• Southern Renaissance (William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor)
• Convention Meets Rebellion
• The Cold War and McCarthyism
• Poetic movements (Frank O´Hara, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath)
• New Ideas, New Values
• Civil Rights and Social Protest
• Modern Multi-Cultural America
• e-learning support:
• http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=243

Literature

• American passages : a literary survey. Edited by Diane O'Connor. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004, xliv, 808. ISBN 0393979407. info
• The Columbia history of the American novel. Edited by Emory Elliott - Cathy N. Davidson. New York: Columbia University, 1991, xviii, 905. ISBN 0-231-07360-7. info
• Columbia literary history of the United States. Edited by Emory Elliott. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988, xxviii, 12. ISBN 0-231-05812-8. info

Teaching methods

discussion-based seminars
group work

Assessment methods

1) Response papers (1 for each seminar), focusing on one text from the assigned reading
2) Colloquium: History and literature are impossible to separate. We will make every effort throughout the semester to blend these disciplines in an attempt to give you a more integrated and realistic picture of the origins of modern America. You will be asked to give special attention to the relationships and connections between historical and literary movements, persons and events throughout the semester. The colloquium will focus on these associations.

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Note related to how often the course is taught: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: kombinované studium: výuka v blocích.

Teacher's information

Students doing their Erasmus study stay abroad and students with IPS are not required to attend the classes, but they are obliged to submit all the required assignments and take the exams.

• Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2025/AJ1304