AJ15074 Aspects of Post-war American Fiction

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2013
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
Thu 19:10–20:45 G22
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 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This year's course will consider in relative detail a range of fictional, and in one case, partly non-fictional, texts produced by post-war American writers, focusing this semester on works by Paul Bowles, Vladimir Nabokov, John Steinbeck, Thomas Pynchon,Joseph Heller, and Cormac McCarthy and their relation to global, regional, socio-geographical and psycho-geographical perspectives deriving from their writing. The aim of the course will be to analyse intrinsically formal elements of textual production, partly in connection with social developments both in the United States and in the post-war world generally but particularly in terms of generating specific, potential forms of subjectivity with which the reader is encouraged to interact. By the end of the course participants are expected to be able to have a more detailed understanding of some of the strategies deployed by those writers considered in this respect.
Syllabus
  • Participants should first note that materials for the course are only available in e-prezencka form from the library. Week 1:Feb.21st: Introductory Week 2:Feb.28th:Catch 22(1) Week 3:March 7th: Catch 22 (2) Week 4:March 14th: Paul Bowles: The Sheltering Sky (1) Week 5:March 21st: Paul Bowles: The Sheltering Sky (2) Week 6:March 28th: Vladimir Nabokov : Lolita (1) Week 7:APRIL 4th: NO LESSON READING WEEK Week 8:April 11th: Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (2) Week 9:April 18th John Steinbeck: Travels With Charley (1) Week 10:April 25th:John Steinbeck:Travels with Charley (2) Week 11:May 2nd:Cormac McCarthy: No Country For Old Men Week 12:May 9th: Thomas Pynchon:V Week 13:May 16th:Thomas Pynchon:V
Literature
  • Cormac MaCarthy No Country For Old Men Vintage 1997
  • Thomas Pynchon V Vintage 1994
  • STEINBECK, John. Travels with Charley and later novels, 1947-1962. 1st Print. New York: Library of America, 2007, 990 s. ISBN 9781598530049. info
  • ROTH, Philip. American pastoral. London: Vintage, 1998, 423 s. ISBN 009927535X. info
  • NABOKOV, Vladimir Vladimirovič. Lolita. Edited by Craig Raine. London: Penguin Books, 1995, 331 s. ISBN 0-14-118253-9. info
  • BOWLES, Paul. The sheltering sky. 1st. Vintage International e. New York: Vintage Books, 1990, 335 s. ISBN 0679729798. info
  • HELLER, Joseph. Catch-22. New York: Dell Publishing, 1962, 463 s. info
Teaching methods
Classes will involve a combination of pair-work and overall group discussion based on global and in specific instances intensive reading of the texts considered.
Assessment methods
Students will be assessed by a combination of oral contribution (40%) based on attendance and performance and on a final essay of 5-7 pages (60%).The essay has the status of an exam and needs to be registered for. Essays should be submitted in hard copy form.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2014, Spring 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2013/AJ15074