AJ14061 Aspects of the Twentieth Century British Short Story

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2012
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)
Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
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
Tue 17:30–19:05 G01
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination || AJ01002 Practical English 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 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This semester's course will focus primarily on a selection of 'long' short stories, or novellas, by writers from the British Isles, focusing this year mainly on writers from the later part of the nineteenth and the earlier part of the twentieth century. The aim will be to explore and compare the formal elements of these fictions and relate them to the experiential areas with which they engage. This will involve a brief exposure to elements of narrative theory at the beginning of the course.By the end of the course the student will have written an essay in which they demonstrate their ability to analyze aspects of the short fiction discussed in terms of relating form to content in the ways covered in the course.During the course students will be expected to discuss ways in which formal elements of the works discussed deviate from traditional norms and the way in which these formal innovations impinge upon the authors' concern with their subject matter.Students will also be expected to gain the skill of going beyond discussing characters as if they were simply depictions of people and the notion of writers depicting a ready-made world by attempting to think of the way in which an author's narrative organizes events and the precise role which character functions might be playing in a given story.
Syllabus
  • Week 1:21st Feb. Introductory; relevant aspects of theory of narrative/ German aesthetics Week 2:28th Feb. E.T.A. Hoffman: The Sandman:R.L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (S. Freud: The Uncanny) Week 3:6th March Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray Week 4:13th March T. Hardy: The Well-Beloved Week 5:20th March H. James: The Aspern Papers Week 6:27th H. James: The Turn of the Screw Week 7:3rd April: J. Conrad:Heart of Darkness Week 8:10th April: READING WEEK: NO LESSON Week 9:17th April: J. Joyce: The Sisters;The Dead Week 10:24th April: K. Mansfield:Je ne parle pas Francais; The Garden Party; Something Childish But Very Natural Week 11:PUBLIC HOLIDAY: NO LESSON Week 12:PUBLIC HOLIDAY: NO LESSON Week 13: S.Beckett: Dante and the Lobster; Fingal.
Literature
  • Barker, Pat Union Street London Virago 1982
  • Hardy, Thomas Life's Little Ironies Oxford Oxford University Press 1996
  • Beckett, Samuel More Pricks Than Kicks London John Calder 1993
  • Wilde, Oscar Complete Short Fiction London Penguin 1994
  • Carter, Angela The Bloody Chamber London Penguin 1981
  • Joyce, James Dubliners London Penguin 1992
  • Carter, Angela Fireworks London Virago 1988
  • Lawrence, D.H. Selected Short Stories London Penguin 1982
  • McEwan, Ian First Love, Last Rites London Picador 1976
  • Kelman, James No, Not While The Giro London Minerva 1989
  • Kelman J, Owens A, Gray, A Lean Tales London Vintage 1995
  • Kureishi, Hanif Love In A Blue Time London Faber and Faber 1997
  • M.Bradbury (ed.) The Penguin Book of Modern Short Stories London Penguin 1988
  • McEwan, Ian In Between The Sheets London Picador 1979
Teaching methods
Teaching by close reading, and ninety minute weekly seminar discussion including group or pairwork.
Assessment methods
Credit requirements: Class contribution (40%), essay (5-8 pages) (60%).Please note that the essay is an exam and that you need to register for it.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://elf.phil.muni.cz/elf/course/view.php?id=719
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2012, recent)
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