AJ4302 Současná americká literatura a společnost

Pedagogická fakulta
jaro 2018
Rozsah
0/2/0. 2 kr. Ukončení: z.
Vyučující
Mgr. Zdeněk Janík, M.A., Ph.D. (cvičící)
Mgr. Jiří Šalamoun, Ph.D. (cvičící)
Garance
Mgr. Lucie Podroužková, Ph.D.
Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury – Pedagogická fakulta
Kontaktní osoba: Jana Popelková
Dodavatelské pracoviště: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury – Pedagogická fakulta
Rozvrh seminárních/paralelních skupin
AJ4302/01: Po 12:05–13:45 učebna 58, Z. Janík, J. Šalamoun
AJ4302/02: Po 10:15–11:55 učebna 63, Z. Janík, J. Šalamoun
Omezení zápisu do předmětu
Předmět je určen pouze studentům mateřských oborů.
Mateřské obory/plány
Cíle předmětu
On the course, students read canonical examples of contemporary US literature to examine some quintessentially American questions: Can the American dream still be lived? How is meaning found in postwar America? What motivates American writers to create art? In practice, we will read texts by Updike and Cheever in the context of abundant yet anxious 1950s and 60s. We will discuss works by Barth and Barthelme in the light of America's (at first) playful (and then) exhausted three decades long romance with postmodernity. Graphic texts by Eisner and Spiegelman will be discussed as the source to the rise of graphic novel (and to a lesser extent) ethnic literature. Finally, texts by Walker, Silko, and Kingston will be discussed in connection to America's nod towards feminist and ethnic awareness.
Výstupy z učení
By the end of the semester, students should be able to: (1) identify and describe major trends in postwar American literature and understand their relationship to American society and culture; (2) develop your skills in analytical reading and proposal writing; (3) research, prepare, and hand in a proposal which meets the requirements of the State Exam in literature; and (4) understand and frame literary works as a form of social commentary which responds to specific historical occurrences.
Osnova
  • 1. Cultural, social and literary themes of contemporary USA
  • 2. Theories of poststructuralism as a tool to interpret contemporary culture
  • 3. Postmodern Identity (Thomas Pynchon, John Barth, Kurt Vonnegut)
  • 4. Revisiting History (E. L. Doctorow, Toni Morrison)
  • 5. New ideas, new genres (graphic novel, cyberpunk)
  • 6. Critique of literary canon and critique of poststructuralism (Adrienne Rich, Gloria Anzaldua, Barbara Christian)
  • 7. Identity and Race (Alice Walker, Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton)
  • 8. Identity and Ethnicity I (Sandra Cisneros, Amy Tan) 9. Identity and Ethnicity II (Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie)
  • 10. Identity and Gender (Ursula LeGuin, Adrienne Rich, Olga Broumas)
  • 11. Queer Identity (Leslie Feinberg, Olga Broumas)
  • 12. Transnational Identity (R. Jarrar, Iva Pekarkova)
Literatura
  • 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
  • The Heath anthology of American literature. Edited by Paul Lauter. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1990, xxxix, 261. ISBN 0-669-12065-0. 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
Výukové metody
Discussion, small group work, lecture, in class writing exercises.
Metody hodnocení
Weekly writing exercises in Moodle (25%)
Participation (20%)
In-class low-stakes writing (5%)
A research proposal consisting of annotated bibliography and an abstract (50%).
Vyučovací jazyk
Angličtina
Informace učitele
http://moodlinka.ics.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=2731
Další komentáře
Studijní materiály
Předmět je vyučován každoročně.
Předmět je zařazen také v obdobích jaro 2019, jaro 2020, jaro 2021, jaro 2022, jaro 2023, jaro 2024, jaro 2025.